Kalantari and Monsan Appointed by Rouhani as Heads of Environmental and Cultural Heritage Organizations

Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, on Sunday, August 13, appointed Eisa Kalantari as the Vice President and new head of the Department of Environment, and Ali-Asghar Monsan as the Vice President and head of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization. Masoumeh Ebtekar, the head of the Department of Environment in Rouhani's first government, had previously been appointed as the Vice President for Women and Family Affairs. Eisa Kalantari served as the Minister of Agriculture during Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's presidency and the first three years of Mohammad Khatami's presidency, and has been the head of the Central Council of the Farmers' House of Iran since 2001. He was the secretary of the task force and executor of the Urmia Lake restoration plan in Rouhani's first government. Kalantari takes this position at a time when the phenomenon of dust storms in 23 provinces of Iran, the drying up of wetlands and lakes, land subsidence, destruction of vegetation and forests, and drought have been among the environmental issues in Iran that have intensified in recent years. While some people in Iranian provinces and experts have criticized the performance of the Department of Environment, officials of this organization attribute part of these problems to the actions of previous governments and the failure to adhere to environmental standards. According to reports, the President of Iran has retained Eshaq Jahangiri, the First Vice President, and Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, in their positions. Hassan Rouhani also appointed Ali-Asghar Monsan as the Vice President and head of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization on the same day. Previously, Zahra Ahmadipour was the head of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization. Monsan's appointment comes amid criticism over the lack of a female minister and the dismissal of Shahindokht Molaverdi from the position of Vice President for Women and Family Affairs. Monsan has previously served as the CEO of the Kish Free Zone Organization and the CEO of the Cultural Spaces Development Company of Tehran Municipality. The President of Iran has not yet issued an order regarding the presidency of the Martyrs Foundation. Hassan Rouhani has introduced his new government to the parliament, and the confidence vote sessions for the proposed ministers are set to begin on Tuesday, August 15. However, Rouhani has not yet introduced the Minister of Science to the parliament. In this regard, Mahmoud Vaezi, the Minister of Communications and Information Technology in the eleventh government, said on Sunday that "it is likely that a caretaker will be introduced for this ministry (Science) in due time, and at an appropriate opportunity, a minister will be introduced who can create transformation and meet the satisfaction of students and professors." Mostafa Tajzadeh, a reformist political activist, had previously pointed to what he called "pressures in the past two months and on the eve of introducing the new government to Hassan Rouhani," stating that Rouhani had introduced nine candidates for the Ministry of Science to Ayatollah Khamenei, none of whom were approved. Meanwhile, the office of Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, acknowledged that he intervenes in the selection of the ministers of Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Intelligence and has "sensitivities" regarding the selection of the ministers of Science, Education, and Culture and Islamic Guidance. In the days leading up to the presidential election on May 29 of this year and during his first term, Hassan Rouhani repeatedly announced his support for the political and cultural activities of students and promised that his government would strive to distance the university from a "security atmosphere." However, previously, student organizations and some members of parliament have criticized the continuation of the security atmosphere in universities. Recently, over 8,000 student activists criticized what they called "pressure on student organizations and publications and the silence of the Ministry of Science officials" regarding this issue, stating that "the problems and crises of higher education institutions, like many other areas in the country, have reached a warning point." In recent days, other criticisms of Hassan Rouhani's proposed government have also emerged. The lack of a Sunni minister, the retention of some ministers including Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, and the introduction of Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, a former manager of the Ministry of Intelligence, for the position of Minister of Communications and Information Technology have been among these criticisms. Some human rights organizations have stated that Alireza Avaei, the proposed Minister of Justice, is "accused of crimes against humanity" and played a role in the execution of political prisoners in Khuzestan province in 1988. He, along with more than 30 other officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran, was placed on a list of individuals banned from entering the European Union in October 2011 due to participation in human rights violations, illegal detention, failure to respect prisoners' rights, and the increase in executions. Previously, several human rights organizations had, in an open letter, pointed to Mostafa Pourmohammadi's role in the execution of political prisoners in 1988 and requested that Hassan Rouhani not introduce him as Minister of Justice in his new government. In this context, the criticism of the Vice President of Parliament regarding the list of proposed ministers by Hassan Rouhani, Khatami's support for Rouhani's proposed government, and a former parliament member's statement that some clerics had requested not to introduce a Sunni minister have been noted. The list of 17 ministers was delivered to the parliament; the Minister of Science was not introduced. Khatami stated regarding the new cabinet: "We do not want a share, but the demands of the people are important."