Parliament's Approval; Proposed Ministers by Pezeshkian Start Work with Khamenei's Endorsement and Agreement from Intelligence and Security Organizations

On Wednesday, August 31, the Islamic Consultative Assembly granted "vote of confidence" to the proposed ministers of Masoud Pezeshkian, the President of the Fourteenth Government, officially forming his government. He had previously indicated that he had received endorsements from "high levels of the system" for all his proposed ministers. Before the voting, Pezeshkian, as the last speaker, defended his proposed ministers again, emphasizing that they had been approved by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, stating that the programs of the Fourteenth Government would implement and pursue the "general policies of the system" as outlined by Ali Khamenei. Pezeshkian also mentioned that he had coordinated with the Ministry of Intelligence, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and intelligence agencies to finalize the list of proposed ministers. He claimed that the backgrounds of individuals such as Ahmad Danyamali, proposed for the Ministry of Sports, Gholamreza Noori Qazaljeh, proposed for the Ministry of Agricultural Jihad, and Abbas Aliabadi, proposed for the Ministry of Energy, were "clear." He also stated that the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Abbas Salehi, was initially not going to come, but Khamenei instructed him to do so. Regarding Farzaneh Sadegh Malavijard, proposed for the Ministry of Roads, he noted that Khamenei himself had said she should be included. Pezeshkian emphasized that all proposed ministers had come with coordination and understanding, and many individuals who raised doubts were not included in the lists. The review of the proposed ministers' programs began on Saturday, August 27, and continued until Wednesday. Before the voting, Pezeshkian defended his proposed ministers again, asserting that his government's program would implement and pursue the "general policies of the system" as communicated by Khamenei. Typically, ministers of important ministries in the Islamic Republic must receive approval from the Supreme Leader. According to published votes, Aziz Nasirzadeh, proposed for the Ministry of Defense, received the highest votes with 281 out of 288, while Mohammad Reza Zafarghandi, proposed for the Ministry of Health, received the lowest with 163 votes. The proposed ministers include Mohammad Reza Salehi Amiri for the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts; Mohammad Reza Zafarghandi for the Ministry of Health; Ahmad Meydari for the Ministry of Labor; Abdolnasser Hemmati for the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance; Alireza Kazemi for the Ministry of Education; Sattar Hashemi for the Ministry of Communications; Ismail Khatib for the Ministry of Intelligence; Abbas Araghchi for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Gholamreza Noori Qazaljeh for the Ministry of Agriculture. Other proposed ministers are Amin Hossein Rahimi for the Ministry of Justice, Aziz Nasirzadeh for the Ministry of Defense, Farzaneh Sadegh Malavijard for the Ministry of Roads, Mohammad Atabak for the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade, Hossein Simayi Sarraf for the Ministry of Science, Abbas Salehi Shariati for the Ministry of Culture, Eskandar Moameni for the Ministry of Interior, Mohsen Paknejad for the Ministry of Oil, Abbas Aliabadi for the Ministry of Energy, and Ahmad Danyamali for the Ministry of Youth and Sports.