Proposed Candidates by Pezeshkian for Ministerial Positions in the Fourteenth Government; Backgrounds and Reactions

The introduction of the proposed ministers by the President of the Fourteenth Government of the Islamic Republic to the Parliament has sparked a wave of reactions. Some say Pezeshkian stated he is 'melted in the leader,' and this list is not surprising, while some of his previous supporters argue that this list does not align with his promises; but who are the proposed ministers and what are their backgrounds? Alireza Kazemi, Minister of Education: Alireza Kazemi, introduced as the candidate for the Ministry of Education by Masoud Pezeshkian, was born in Mashhad in 1965. He previously held the position of Deputy for Cultural and Educational Affairs at the Ministry of Education in Hassan Rouhani's second government and served as the caretaker of the Ministry of Education in Ebrahim Raisi's government from September to December 2021. Alireza Kazemi, whose brother Mohammad Kazemi is the Deputy Commander and Head of the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, is currently the Deputy Secretary-General of the Drug Control Headquarters. Mohammad Habibi, a well-known member of the Teachers' Trade Association, refers to Alireza Kazemi as one of those officials of the Islamic Republic who 'present themselves as reformist principlists.' Sattar Hashemi, Minister of Communications and Information Technology: Sattar Hashemi, born in 1976 in Yasuj, is the Deputy for Development, Technology, and Electronic Services at the Registration of Deeds and Properties Organization and previously served as the Deputy for Technology and Innovation at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology from 2019 to 2021. He is the brother of Zia Hashemi, the cultural attaché of the Islamic Republic in Sweden, and holds a Bachelor's degree in Hardware from Isfahan University and a PhD in Artificial Intelligence from Science and Industry University and Monash University in Australia. The removal of filtering has become one of the campaign slogans of some candidates considered by the Islamic Republic to succeed Ebrahim Raisi, including Masoud Pezeshkian. After his introduction for the Ministry of Communications to the Parliament, Sattar Hashemi stated he is 'fully aware of the difficulties of the path' and wants to be a 'listening ear for specialists and all citizens' to remove and correct 'incorrect procedures.' However, he did not specify what he would do to rectify those 'incorrect procedures' after listening. In recent days, following the release of a video of a member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly regarding a double-urgent plan claiming 'removal of filtering,' some experts expressed concern that this plan is aimed at 'strengthening the powers of the Supreme National Security Council' of the Islamic Republic. Ismail Khatib, Minister of Intelligence: Ismail Khatib, a 63-year-old cleric whom Pezeshkian introduced as the proposed Minister of Intelligence to the Parliament, held the same position in Ebrahim Raisi's cabinet. The suppression of the nationwide protests in 2021, which led to the deaths of hundreds of citizens, occurred during his tenure as Minister of Intelligence. Khatib was the head of the Information Protection Center of the Judiciary from 2012 to 2019 and is known as one of the hardline officials of the government and close to Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic. On August 25, just a few days before the killing of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, he claimed that the 'Mossad infiltration network' in Iran had been 'dismantled'; statements that gained media attention again following the death of the Hamas political leader. Abdulnasser Hemmati, Minister of Economy and Finance: Abdulnasser Hemmati, born in 1957 in Kabudarahang, Hamadan Province, is recognized as a politician from the so-called 'reformist' faction. He was the candidate of this political stream in the 2021 government elections and was unsuccessful against Ebrahim Raisi. Hemmati is an economist and one of the managers who entered power during Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's government. He served as the head of the Central Bank during Hassan Rouhani's administration. Moloud Hajizadeh, a journalist, reacted to Hemmati's introduction for the Ministry of Economy and Finance, pointing out that during his presidency at the Central Bank, 'the value of the national currency decreased by 180 percent' and 'liquidity grew more than twofold,' labeling Abdulnasser Hemmati as 'one of the least accountable' officials of the Islamic Republic. Abbas Araghchi, Minister of Foreign Affairs: Abbas Araghchi, born in 1962 in Tehran, served as the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and later as the Deputy for Legal and International Affairs in the first cabinet of Hassan Rouhani and became the political deputy of the ministry in his second government. He has also been the secretary of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations under Ali Khamenei since 2021 and has been a senior advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the thirteenth government. Araghchi was a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the 1980s and has been an employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1988. He holds a Master's degree in Political Science from Azad University and a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from a faculty under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was one of the members of the Islamic Republic's nuclear negotiation team with the P5+1 group, known as the JCPOA. In one of his recent statements, Abbas Araghchi threatened that Tehran might 'change its nuclear doctrine.' Mohammad Reza Zafarghandi, Minister of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education: Mohammad Reza Zafarghandi, born in 1958 in Tehran, is a physician and politician who served as the head of the Medical Council of Iran from 2018 to 2021. Zafarghandi, who is part of the so-called reformist faction of the Islamic Republic and is the Secretary-General of the Islamic Medical Society of Iran, holds a subspecialty in vascular surgery and teaches at Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Following a series of suicides among young physicians in Iran reported in recent months, Mohammad Reza Zafarghandi has deemed the 'mental, physical, and livelihood pressures' on them as alarming. Ahmad Maidari, Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare: Ahmad Maidari, born in 1963 in Abadan, Khuzestan Province, holds a PhD in Economics and a Master's degree in Development and Economic Planning from Tehran University. Maidari is a politician from the reformist faction of the Islamic Republic, who was elected to the Islamic Consultative Assembly in its sixth term and served as the Deputy for Social Welfare at the Ministry of Labor in Hassan Rouhani's first cabinet. He, who was an economic advisor to Pezeshkian during the campaign for succeeding Raisi, has described 'education and health' as two 'public goods' that 'must be provided to citizens outside the market system' and claimed that Pezeshkian's idea is 'economic reconstruction based on social justice.' Gholam-Reza Nouri Qazljagh, Minister of Agriculture: Gholam-Reza Nouri Qazljagh, born in 1970 in Bostanabad, East Azerbaijan, holds a Master's degree in Agricultural Engineering and is a PhD student in Agricultural Policy and Development. Nouri Qazljagh is a member of the Construction Workers Party and has been a member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly in the ninth, eleventh, and twelfth terms. He is also the head of the 'Independent and Loyal Independents' faction of the Islamic Consultative Assembly. This member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly previously stated about the well-known 'protection' plan aimed at limiting social media in Iran that this plan will not reach a conclusion 'wherever it is examined because it lacks a proper intellectual framework.' Gholam-Reza Nouri Qazljagh also opposed the removal of preferential currency, stating that 'in this inflationary situation,' the removal of such currency would lead to an increase in the cost of meat and dairy products. Amin Hossein Rahimi, Minister of Justice: Amin Hossein Rahimi, born in 1968 in Malayer, Lorestan Province, is considered a politician from the so-called principlist faction of the Islamic Republic. News sources mention his education as a Master's degree in Public Law and Public Management from Tehran University. Before starting his work as Minister of Justice in Ebrahim Raisi's cabinet in 2021, Rahimi served as the Prosecutor of the Court of Audit, the head of the Court of Audit, and a member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly in its eighth term. Rahimi is another minister of Raisi whom Pezeshkian wants to retain in the Ministry of Justice. Aziz Nasirzadeh, Minister of Defense, Support, and Armed Forces: Aziz Nasirzadeh, born in 1964 in Sarab, East Azerbaijan, is a pilot in the Air Force of the Islamic Republic, having been employed in the Air Force since 1982. He graduated from the Air Force Pilot School. Nasirzadeh has been the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic since 2021. His political and military career includes positions such as managing 'Electronic Warfare' in the Air Force, Deputy for Intelligence of the Air Force, Deputy for Planning and Programs of this force, Head of the Air Force Staff, Deputy Commander of the Air Force, and Deputy for Planning, Budget, and Assembly of the entire Army. Farzaneh Sadegh, Minister of Roads and Urban Development: Farzaneh Sadegh Malavijerd, born in 1976, is an architect with a PhD in Urban Planning from Azad University. She currently serves as the CEO of the Kowsar Property and Assets Organization, belonging to the 'Martyrs Foundation.' Farzaneh Sadegh is the only woman in Pezeshkian's proposed list of ministers and previously served as the Secretary of the Supreme Council of Urban Planning and Architecture of Iran and as the Deputy for Architecture and Urban Planning at the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development. After that, in 2023, Mehrdad Bazrpash, the Minister of Roads, dismissed Farzaneh Sadegh from her deputy position and appointed her as an advisor. Mohammad Atabak, Minister of Industry, Mining, and Trade: Mohammad Atabak, born in 1958, holds a Master's degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Michigan in the United States. Atabak has been the Deputy for Economic Affairs of the Foundation of the Oppressed since 2021 and has a history of being a member of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce, a manager in cement and steel industries, a member of the advisory council of the Ministry of Industries and the Parliament, a member of the investment companies of the Housing Bank and Sedra Company, and the CEO of Kaveh Pars Mineral Industries Holding. Hossein Simayi, Minister of Science, Research, and Technology: Hossein Simayi Sarraf, born in 1968 in Mashhad, has served as the Secretary of the Government Board in the twelfth and thirteenth governments of the Islamic Republic, is a lawyer, and holds a PhD in Private Law from Beheshti University, with 20 years of seminary education also mentioned in his background. In his political background, Hossein Simayi has served as the Deputy for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs at the Ministry of Science in Hassan Rouhani's second term, Deputy for Legal Affairs of Hassan Rouhani in the eleventh government, and Director General of the Legal Office of the Ministry of Science in the same government. Abbas Salehi, Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance: Abbas Salehi was born in 1963 in Mashhad and has seminary education. It is said that he obtained a PhD in Philosophy from a 'university affiliated with the seminary.' Salehi, who was the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance in the twelfth government, is currently the editor-in-chief of the Information Institute and Newspaper and also the President of the University of Islamic Religions. Previously, he served as the Deputy for Cultural Affairs of the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance in the first cabinet of Hassan Rouhani, that is, in the eleventh government of the Islamic Republic. After Ali Jannati's resignation from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance in 2016, Salehi became the caretaker of this ministry and remained until the end of the term to be appointed as a minister in the next cabinet. Eskandar Momeni, Minister of Interior: Eskandar Momeni, born in 1962 in Qaem Shahr, Mazandaran Province, is a senior member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who currently holds the title of 'Brigadier General' in the Law Enforcement Command of the Islamic Republic. Since 2018, he has been the Secretary-General of the Drug Control Headquarters and simultaneously serves as an advisor to the President. Momeni, who has been a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps since the 1980s, was the commander of the Law Enforcement of Khorasan Province from 2001 to 2003 and then served as the Deputy of the Law Enforcement Command until 2004. He was the head of the police emergency center 110 from 2004 to 2007 and then served as the Deputy of Operations of the Law Enforcement until 2008. Momeni was the head of the traffic police for five years, from 2009 to 2013, and was also the Deputy Commander of the Law Enforcement from 2014 to 2018. Fariborz Karami Zand, a former police officer and military and security analyst, has described Momeni's introduction as Pezeshkian's candidate for the Ministry of Interior as 'merely intended for the suppression of popular protests,' recalling that he played a major role in suppressing the protests in December 2017 as the Deputy Commander of the Law Enforcement. Reza Salehi Amiri, Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts: Reza Salehi Amiri was born in 1961 in Babol, Mazandaran Province; his higher education is reported as a Master's degree in Political Science and a PhD in Public Management from Azad University. He is known as a figure from the reformist faction of the Islamic Republic and was a security official in the 1980s and 1990s under the alias 'Brother Fallah.' Salehi Amiri served as the President of the National Olympic Committee of the Islamic Republic from 2017 to 2022. He has also held positions such as the head of the National Archives and Library of Iran, caretaker of the Ministry of Sports and Youth during Hassan Rouhani's term, and worked in the Ministry of Intelligence, Strategic Studies Center of the Presidency, Deputy Mayor, and Deputy for Cultural and Social Research at the Strategic Research Center of the Expediency Discernment Council. Behnam Gholipour, a journalist, previously reminded that when Reza Salehi Amiri, also known as 'Brother Fallah,' was the special deputy of the Ministry of Intelligence, 'the intelligence agents killed Farrokhzad and many others in Europe.' Mohsen Paknejad, Minister of Oil: Mohsen Paknejad, born in 1966 in Tehran, holds a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from Tehran University and from Amirkabir University of Technology.