Ahmadinejad to Nominate Oil Minister in Days

Iran’s president is expected to nominate caretaker Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari as permanent minister by the end of this week or next week, a presidential aide said on Sunday. Parliament must approve President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s nomination and officials have said he will propose Nozari, who heads the state-owned National Iranian Oil Company.

Nozari was named acting minister after Ahmadinejad dismissed Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh in August.

“The president will most likely introduce his two new ministers to parliament at the end of this week or early next week,” ISNA news agency quoted the presidential aide responsible for parliament affairs as saying.

Along with the oil minister, Ahmadinejad has to nominate an industry minister, now held in a caretaker capacity by Aliakbar Mehrabian, who is expected to be proposed for the post.

Iran, OPEC’s number two crude producer, has reaped windfall gains in recent years from the high oil price, earning more than $50 billion in the year to March.