The Iranian Shura Council, dominated by conservatives, approved the appointments of the government members on Wednesday after they were proposed by recently elected reformist President Masoud Vazhehkiyan, which includes one woman and a diplomat open to dialogue with the West, according to "Agence France-Presse." The lawmakers voted in favor of the 19 ministers chosen by Vazhehkiyan during a session broadcast by state television. The reformist newspaper "Etamad" confirmed that this is the first time since former reformist President Mohammad Khatami's era 23 years ago that the Iranian parliament has given its confidence to all ministers proposed by a president.
The Shura Council's vote marks the official start of the new government in Iran. In a speech delivered in parliament before the vote, Vazhehkiyan stated, "I had ideal candidates in mind, but when I saw that there was no agreement on them, I backed down." He added, "Consensus is more important to me than ideal candidates," pledging to "move forward in unity." After the vote, Vazhehkiyan posted on X (formerly Twitter) a picture of himself with conservative Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and head of the judiciary Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei, captioning it "Consensus for Iran."
Vazhehkiyan's cabinet formation drew criticism from some members of the Iranian reformist camp, particularly due to the inclusion of conservatives from the government of former president Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash last May. Others criticized Vazhehkiyan's cabinet for lacking representatives from ethnic and religious minorities, as well as for the lack of women in the cabinet.
The new government includes diplomat Abbas Araghchi (61 years old) as the foreign minister. Araghchi replaces Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who also died in the helicopter crash. Araghchi is known for his openness towards the West and his pivotal role in the negotiations that led to the 2015 international agreement regarding Iran's nuclear program. Additionally, Vazhehkiyan appointed Farzaneh Sadeghi, an urban planning expert previously involved in the Ministry of Housing, to head the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development. Sadeghi (48 years old) has become the second woman to hold a ministerial position since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
