TEHRAN: The Iranian parliament on Wednesday blocked the appointment of a politician from the Sunni minority as vice president, state media reported.
In August, President Masoud Pezeshkian had announced the appointment of Abdolkarim Hosseinzadeh as his vice president for rural development and disadvantaged areas, citing his “valuable experience.”
But on Wednesday lawmakers voted against his resignation from parliament to take up the vice president post, the official IRNA news agency said.
“Parliament members voted 107 in favor, 129 against, and five abstentions out of the 247 representatives present,” it added.
Sunni Muslims account for around 10 percent of Iran’s population, where the vast majority are Shiites and that branch of Islam is the official state religion.
They have very rarely held key positions of power since the Islamic revolution in 1979.
Iran has numerous vice presidents, who are tasked with leading organizations related to presidential affairs in the country.
A 44-year-old reformist, Hosseinzadeh has since 2012 represented the northwestern cities of Naghadeh and Oshnavieh in the Iranian parliament.
He has spoken out publicly on several occasions in defense of the rights of Iran’s Sunnis.
During his election campaign Pezeshkian, himself a reformist, criticized the lack of representation for ethnic and religious minorities, in particular Sunni Kurds, in important positions.
Iran parliament blocks appointment of Sunni to VP post
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Iran parliament blocks appointment of Sunni to VP post
Iran close to deal with China to buy supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles
- Giant aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford docks in Crete en route to Middle East
LONDON: Iran is close to a deal with China to purchase supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles, as the US deploys a vast naval force near the Iranian coast ahead of possible strikes.
The CM-302 missiles have a range of about 290 kilometers and are designed to evade shipborne defences by flying low and fast. Their deployment would significantly enhance Iran’s strike capabilities and pose a threat to US naval forces in the region, two weapons experts said.
“It’s a complete gamechanger if Iran has supersonic capability to attack ships in the area,” said Danny Citrinowicz, a former Israeli intelligence officer and now senior Iran researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, a think tank in Israel. “These missiles are very difficult to intercept.”
It is not known how many missiles are involved in the potential deal, how much Iran has agreed to pay, or whether China would go through with the agreement given heightened tensions in the region.
“Iran has military and security agreements with its allies, and now is an appropriate time to make use of these agreements,” an Iranian foreign ministry official said.
Meanwhile the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest warship, has reached the US naval base of Souda Bay on the Mediterranean island of Crete en route to the Middle East.
Washington has more than a dozen warships in the region: the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, nine destroyers and three combat ships.
