Abdulkarim Hosseinzadeh, Sunni Representative, Appointed as Deputy to Behdar

Abdulkarim Hosseinzadeh, a Kurdish Sunni representative in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, has been appointed by Masoud Behdar as the Deputy President for Rural Development and Underprivileged Areas of the country. Masoud Behdar, the President of Iran, cited Hosseinzadeh's 'commitment and valuable experiences' as the reason for his selection in the decree published on the evening of Tuesday, September 5. Behdar also called for the new deputy to pursue and oversee efforts 'to improve the living conditions of rural residents and enhance rural development indicators, emphasizing the role of rural residents in achieving a resilient economy.' Abdulkarim Hosseinzadeh is the first Sunni member in the cabinets of the Islamic Republic and holds the highest government position for a Sunni citizen in the past 45 years. Previously, he was the representative of Naqdeh and Oshnavieh in the Islamic Consultative Assembly and a member of the Urban Development Commission. In recent weeks, there has been widespread criticism of Masoud Behdar's cabinet, particularly regarding the absence of Sunnis and the presence of only one woman, which has sparked a wave of criticism. During his electoral debates, Behdar criticized the situation of religious and ethnic minorities and promised to create a cabinet of national unity. However, after the list of proposed ministers for the fourteenth government was published, Molavi Abdulhamid, the Sunni Imam of Zahedan, protested the absence of Sunnis, stating that national unity cannot be achieved with such a cabinet. Additionally, Behdar's statements about complete coordination with Ali Khamenei in selecting cabinet members have drawn widespread reactions and criticisms. On Tuesday, news of two other government appointments outside the cabinet was also published, with Soulat Mortazavi and Sepehr Khalaji, two members of Ebrahim Raisi's cabinet, moving to the 'Executive Headquarters of Imam's Command.'