Rouhani's Deputy Dismisses Ahmadinejad's Oil Minister as Advisor

Es'hagh Jahangiri, the First Vice President of Iran, has dismissed Rostam Qasemi, the Oil Minister in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government, from his position as advisor and appointed Hassan Polarak, another commander of the IRGC, in his place. Mr. Polarak is a commander of the Quds Force and the head of the Reconstruction Headquarters of Holy Shrines. Meanwhile, the dismissal of Rostam Qasemi, who is also a commander of the IRGC, has faced negative reactions from news sources close to the principlists, including the news website Rajanews, which attributed Qasemi's dismissal to his criticisms of the new oil contracts. It is noteworthy that the oil minister of Ahmadinejad's government was appointed as an advisor to the First Vice President after Hassan Rouhani's government took office. Es'hagh Jahangiri had previously warned critics of the new oil contracts that 'if they continue their destructive activities, the government will no longer remain silent and will take necessary actions against their destruction.' In this context, the newspaper Eghtesadnews reported that the dismissal of Rostam Qasemi was 'the first step' for Jahangiri to implement this threat. According to this report, Mr. Qasemi 'played a direct role in preventing the implementation of the new oil contracts and was responsible for the cancellation of the London conference.' The Rouhani government's decision to sign new oil contracts with international companies and other countries after the lifting of sanctions against Iran has faced negative reactions from several principlists and representatives affiliated with this faction in the Islamic Consultative Assembly. Representatives such as Alireza Zakani, Ahmad Tavakoli, Elias Naderan, Hossein Najabat, Ahmad Amirabadi, and Mohammad Dehghan believe that the new oil contracts are 'contrary to the Constitution' and 'resistance economy.' A number of Basij students also attempted to protest these contracts by gathering in front of the Ministry of Oil, but were met with resistance from law enforcement. In this context, the repeated cancellation of Iran's oil conference in London due to 'visa issuance issues' raises questions about the importance of the London oil conference, oil prices, and the possibility of an OPEC agreement with other global producers, as well as the implications of re-establishing Iranian banks' communication with the SWIFT system.