Recent Appearances...

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Recent Appearances...

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Three Iranian Ministers Target of EU Sanctions

2011-10-11

[An Nahar] Three Iranian government ministers are on a list of 29 people targeted by new European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
sanctions, diplomatic sources told Agence La Belle France Presse on Monday.

The present ministers for intelligence (secret services), justice and culture are joined by a former interior minister as well as regional governors, prosecutors and prison directors, the sources added.

The sanctions will take effect on Tuesday when they are published in the EU's legal log, the Official Journal.

EU foreign ministers signed off the Iranian travel bans and asset freezes, alongside other sanctions on Belarus in Luxembourg on Monday.

They follow a previous wave of restrictive measures in March against 32 Iranians, as well as plans to hit the Commercial Bank of Syria, targeted by a US assets freeze in August, according to diplomats.

Heydar Moslehi, intelligence minister, is responsible for the infamous Evin prison's torture ward, section 209.

Moslehi stands accused of ordering arbitrary detentions and persecution of opposition figures.

Culture Minister Mohammad Husseini is held responsible for press censorship as well as the arrests of journalists and artists, the same sources said.

Justice Minister Seyyed Morteza Bakhtiair is said to have harassed prominent Iranians living abroad.

Former interior minister Sadeq Mahsouli and the head of the Iranian police's computer crimes squad are also on the list, for investigations into opposition figures using the Internet.

In Belarus, where President Alexander Lukashenko has thrown hundreds of opponents behind bars, four of 16 people blacklisted are believed to be involved in a court case against the head of a top human rights
...which often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless...
group, Ales Beliatsky, that has sparked global outrage and calls for his release.

The 27-nation bloc last month banned the delivery to Syria's central bank of bank-notes and coins produced in the EU in a seventh round of sanctions designed to step up economic pressure on

President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad's
One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators. Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor...
regime.

The last round also included a ban on European firms making new investments in Syria's oil industry, biting further at Assad's regime after an earlier ban on imports of Syrian crude to Europe.

Europe buys 95 percent of Syria's oil exports, providing the regime with one third of its hard currency earnings.

The sanctions against Syria come on the heels of growing irritation against Russia and China in the EU and the United States, for their veto of a UN resolution against the Syrian regime's unrelenting crackdown on protests.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iran appoints caretaker oil minister

2011-06-03

[Iran Press TV] Iran's diminutive President

Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad has appointed former head of Iran's Physical Education Organization Mohammad Ali-Abadi as the caretaker for the Ministry of Oil.

"Considering your commitment, knowledge, and useful executive experience, and in accordance with Article 135 of the Constitution of the Islamic Theocratic Republic of Iran, and based on this decree, you [Ali-Abadi] are appointed as acting oil minister," read the presidential directive issued on Thursday.

In March, Ahmadinejad relieved Welfare Minister Sadeq Mahsouli, Minister of Mines and Industries Ali Akbar Mehrabian and Oil Minister Massoud Mirkazemi of their duties according to the 53rd Article of the Fifth Five-Year Development Plan.

The Iranian government plans to merge the ministries of Roads and Transportation with Housing and Urban Development; Energy with Oil; Industries and Mines with Commerce; and Welfare and Social Security with Labor and Social Affairs.

According to Iran's Fifth Five-Year Development Plan (2010-2015), the Iranian government is obliged to reduce its ministries form 21 to 17 to officially improve the efficiency of state administration.

Ahmadinejad had temporarily assumed the responsibilities of the oil ministry following the dismissal of Mirkazemi.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Ahmadinejad Sacks 3 Ministers to Shrink Cabinet

2011-05-15

[An Nahar]

Iran's diminutive President Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad on Saturday dismissed three ministers whose portfolios are being merged with other ministries as part of a cabinet streamlining, his office's website announced.
Those who lose their jobs include Oil Minister Masoud Mirkazemi whose responsibilities are being merged with the energy ministry. Iran is OPEC's second largest crude exporter and currently holds the cartel's presidency.

Welfare Minister Sadeq Mahsouli and Industries Minister Ali Akbar Mehrabian also go, as their responsibilities are merged with the labor and commerce ministries respectively.

The departures are part of a streamlining of the cabinet provided for under Iran's development plan for 2010-2015, which requires the number of posts to be cut from 21 to 17.

Transport minister Hamid Behbahani already lost his job in February when he failed to survive an impeachment motion in parliament. His responsibilities have been merged with the housing ministry.

The mechanics of the downsizing have been a source of tension for weeks between the president and parliament.

Ahmadinejad says that cabinet appointments are his prerogative but parliament insists it must approve the new portfolios and who holds them.

A widely reported war of words erupted this week between Ahmadinejad and parliament speaker Ali Larijani on the issue, before Iran's powerful Guardians Council intervened and sided with parliament on Thursday.

The Guardians Council is the body that oversees elections, interprets the constitution and vets parliamentary legislation.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

US slaps sanctions on eight Iranian toadies

2010-09-30

WASHINGTON The United States stepped up pressure against Irans government on Wednesday, slapping financial and travel sanctions on eight Iranian officials and accusing them of taking part in rampant human rights abuses. Under an executive order signed this week by President Barack Obama, the State and Treasury departments jointly announced the sanctions that target Iranians who share responsibility for the sustained and severe violation of human rights in Iran, notably after last years disputed presidential elections.

What took so long?

At a State Department news conference, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said it was the first time the United States has imposed sanctions on Iranians for violating human rights. The step adds another layer to already heavy U.S. sanctions on Iran, which in the past have been imposed over the countrys nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

None of which seems to have stopped Short Round and the Mad Mullahs.

The move bars the eight Iranians from entering the United States, blocks any of their U.S. assets and prohibits Americans from doing business with them.

Which we weren't supposed to be doing anyways ...

Although none of the eight is believed to have substantial assets in U.S. jurisdictions, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said he expects foreign financial institutions to stop doing business with them.

We have found that then we single out individuals and expose their conduct, banks, businesses and governments around the world respond by cutting off their economic and financial dealings with these individuals, these institutions, these businesses, Geithner said.

Among the eight Iranians targeted Wednesday is Mohammad Ali Jafari, commander of Irans powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and one his top deputies, Hossein Taeb. Jafari is already subject to U.S. sanctions related to Irans nuclear program.

Now he's under double-secret probation ...

The administration said that forces under the command of Jafari and Taeb participated in beatings, murder and arbitrary arrests of peaceful protesters in the aftermath of the June 2009 Iranian election.

Also named were Iranian Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi, four current and former police chiefs and prosecutors, and Sadeq Mahsouli, currently Irans minister of welfare and social security. Mahsouli was minister of the interior at the time of the June 2009 election, and in that role had authority over all police forces and Interior Ministry security agents, the administrations announcement said.

His forces were responsible for attacks on the dormitories of Tehran University on June 15, 2009, during which students were severely beaten and detained, the joint Treasury and State statement said.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Ahmadinejad facing objections to his new cabinet

2009-08-19

[Bangla Daily Star] Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose disputed re-election plunged the nation into its worst crisis since the Islamic revolution, unveils his cabinet today facing a dogged opposition and challenges from within his own hardline support base.

Ahmadinejad already announced six names on Sunday and said he planned to have at least three women ministers in his 21-member government, which would be a first in the 30-year existence of the Islamic republic.

But some of his proposed appointments have already run into objections from MPs, who have complained that Ahmadinejad needs to consult them more and ensure his ministers have the right experience and credentials.

"From the six people named, we can assume the cabinet will not have the calibre required for an efficient government and this is not a good sign," influential conservative MP Ahmad Tavakoli was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.

"In this list there are people who have never recorded a day of executive work," he charged.

Ahmadinejad's position has already been shaken by the massive opposition protests over his June re-election and a dispute with some hardliners over his political choices which has exposed rifts among the ruling elite.

During his first tenure, he also came under fire for frequently reshuffling the cabinet, sacking 10 ministers and two central bank chiefs and retaining inexperienced ministers.

His new four-year term is also expected to see Iran remain on a collision course with the West, particularly over its nuclear drive and its crackdown against the opposition in the post-election tumult.

Among the top jobs, Ahmadinejad said he will name Heydar Moslehi, a former representative of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the volunteer Basij militia, as intelligence minister.

Manouchehr Mottaki is expected to stay at the foreign ministry, the Mehr news agency reported, quoting "unnamed informed sources."

Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli, a former Revolutionary Guard commander, will move to the defence minister in a swap with Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, it said.

Ahmadinejad on Sunday said the main criteria for his new team were "morality and commitment, efficiency as well as convergence and spirit of cooperation."

He has pledged that his new government will work to improve the economy, promote social justice and crack down on corruption.

His line-up will be put to a confidence vote before the 290-member parliament on August 30, but it may not be smooth sailing.

Among the women, his choice of Fatemeh Ajorlou for welfare and social security is likely to stir controversy because of her alleged support for Abbas Palizdar, who was jailed for accusing several senior clerics, including former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, and their children of corruption.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Irans top army chief opposes defense minister choice

2009-08-11

[Iran Press TV Latest] Amid heated discussions on his choices for Cabinet members, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad faces challenges in introducing interior and defense ministers.

Iran's Joint Chiefs of Staff has reportedly opposed Ahmadinejad's choice for the Defense Ministry, Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli, Asre Iran reported on Monday. The report added that due to the opposition to the pick, the president would have to name another candidate for the post.

Meanwhile, some prominent figures have also opposed appointing the incumbent Defense Minister Brigadier General Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar as the 10th government's interior minister. Subsequently, the former head of the presidential office and an academic member of Iran's University of Science and Technology, Ali Sheikholeslami, has emerged as a candidate, reports say.

Sheikholeslami has served as the deputy governor of Hormozgan province and is a close ally of President Ahmadinejad.

With less than two weeks before Ahmadinejad has to introduce his Cabinet, the president met the Parliament's Principlist bloc to discuss the next government.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Mousavi seeks permission to mourn slain protestors

2009-07-27

[Khaleej Times] TEHRAN - Iranian opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi have applied for interior ministry permission to hold a mourning ceremony for demonstrators killed in protests over last month's election.

"We request permission to hold a ceremony to commemorate the 40th day after the deaths of our citizens who lost their lives following the start of the saddening events," the two leaders said in a letter to Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli.

The website of Etemad Melli, the political party of Karroubi, said the ceremony was to be held on Thursday.

The ISNA report said the organisers planned to hold the ceremony in central Tehran's Grand Mosalla, an open prayer venue where religious ceremonies are often held.

"The ceremony will have no speeches. It will consist only of recitals from the Koran and participants will be asked to pay their respects in silence," the letter carried by ISNA said.

Iran witnessed massive street protests over the June 12 re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Official reports said at least 20 people were killed and scores wounded.

Following the violence that erupted during the protests, authorities banned gatherings in the capital, especially those planned by opposition groups.

Despite the ban, defiant protestors have managed to stage demonstrations but on a much smaller scale, although thousands took to the streets on July 9 on the anniversary of bloody student unrest in 1999.

The call from the two leaders came a day after they joined reformist former president Mohmmad Khatami in urging Iran's clerics to intervene to prevent "oppression" by the authorities against detained protestors.

Hundreds of demonstrators, political activists and journalists have been arrested in the post-election crackdown by security forces.

"We want you, the top clerics, to remind the authorities of the harmful outcome of not abiding by the law and prevent them from spreading oppression in the Islamic republic," the three said a joint statement released on Saturday.

They accused the regime of "savagery" and said its "interrogation methods are a reminder of the dark era of the Shah" Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was toppled in the 1979 Islamic revolution.

The reformist Etemad newspaper reported that two protestors have died in custody.

Mousavi and Karroubi, who stood against Ahmadinejad in the June poll, have rejected the legitimacy of his new government and called for a re-run of the election.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iran riot police block parliament demontsrations

2009-06-25

[Al Arabiya Latest] Riot police blocked protesters from gathering in Tehran on Wednesday, witnesses said, as Iran's supreme leader warned he will not back down in the face of unrest following the disputed presidential vote. "In the recent incidents concerning the election, I have been insisting on the implementation of the law and I will be (insisting). Neither the system, nor the people will back down under force," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said.

It was the latest indication that the clerical regime will not tolerate dissent over the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad despite a wave of public demonstrations and complaints that the June 12 election was rigged.

Iran has refused to overturn the results of the poll but Khamenei -- who has ruled over the Islamic republic for 20 years -- has extended by five days a Wednesday deadline to examine vote complaints

" In the recent incidents concerning the election, I have been insisting on the implementation of the law and I will be insisting. Neither the system, nor the people will back down under force "

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

And in a sign security forces are wasting no time to put down protests, a large presence of riot police and Basij militiamen stopped a crowd of several hundred people trying to assemble outside the Iranian parliament building, according to a witness. Another witness near parliament reported seeing police charge at passers by, who dispersed into nearby streets. Later in the evening a big squad of riot police remained deployed in the area, a source said.

Diplomatic backlash

" Iran's decision to try to turn what are clearly internal matters for Iran into a conflict with the U.K. and others is deeply regrettable and without foundation "

UK govt

In the latest diplomatic backlash over what Iran has branded Western meddling, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Tehran may downgrade ties with Britain.

His comments came after the two governments expelled diplomats in a tit-for-tat move, with Tehran increasingly pointing the finger at London over the street violence that erupted in the aftermath of the election. "We are monitoring the situation. We have noted these reports. We have always been clear that we seek a constructive bilateral relationship with Iran based on mutual respect," a spokesman for British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's spokesman said.

"Iran's decision to try to turn what are clearly internal matters for Iran into a conflict with the U.K. and others is deeply regrettable and without foundation."

Tehran has accused Britain -- described by Khameini as the "most evil" of Iran's enemies -- of plotting against the election and seeking to stabilize the country. It has expelled the BBC correspondent in Tehran and arrested a British-Greek journalist working for a U.S. newspaper, one of at least two foreign reporters detained by the authorities.

Iran's interior minister also took aim at the United States, saying rioters were being funded by the CIA and the exiled opposition group the People's Mujahedeen. "Britain, America and the Zionist regime (Israel) were behind the recent unrest in Tehran," Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli was quoted as saying by the semi-official news agency Fars.

Rezaei withdraws

" Iran's political, social and security situation has entered a sensitive and decisive phase, which is more important than the election "

Mohsen Rezaei

Another defeated candidate, former Revolutionary Guards chief Mohsen Rezaei, has withdrawn his protest about election irregularities, in a blow to the opposition. "(Iran's) political, social and security situation has entered a sensitive and decisive phase, which is more important than the election," Rezaei said in a letter to the Guardians Council, the top election body.

Mousavi, who was premier in the post-revolution era, has urged supporters to keep demonstrating but to use "self-restraint" to avoid further bloodshed while another defeated candidate Mehdi Karroubi has called for a mourning ceremony on Thursday for slain protesters.

The Revolutionary Guards, the elite force set up to protect the Islamic republic, has warned of a "decisive and revolutionary" riposte to any further protests.

The last opposition rally on Monday was crushed by hundreds of riot police armed with steel clubs and firing tear gas.

The foreign media is banned from reporting from the streets under tight restrictions imposed since the unrest was unleashed, but images of police brutality have spread worldwide via amateur video over the Internet.

Mousavi's wife
Meanwhile the wife of Mousavi called on the establishment to immediately release Iranians detained at election protests and said she would continue to protest but was sure to add "legally," according to Mousavi's website. "I regret the arrest of many politicians and people and want their immediate release ... It is my duty to continue legal protests to preserve Iranian rights," Zahra Rahnavard was quoted by the website as saying. She also criticized the presence of armed forces in the streets.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Guardian Council: Over 100% voted in 50 cities

2009-06-22

[Iran Press TV Latest] Iran's Guardian Council has admitted that the number of votes collected in 50 cities surpass the number of those eligible to cast ballot in those areas.

The council's Spokesman Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaei, who was speaking on the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) Channel 2 on Sunday, made the remarks in response to complaints filed by Mohsen Rezaei -- a defeated candidate in the June 12 Presidential election.

"Statistics provided by Mohsen Rezaei in which he claims more than 100% of those eligible have cast their ballot in 170 cities are not accurate -- the incident has happened in only 50 cities," Kadkhodaei said.

The spokesman, however, said that although the vote tally affected by such an irregularity is over 3 million, "it has yet to be determined whether the amount is decisive in the election results," reported Khabaronline.

Three of the four candidates contesting in last Friday's presidential election cried foul, once the Interior Ministry announced the results - according to which incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner with almost two-thirds of the vote.

Rezaei, along with Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, reported more than 646 'irregularities' in the electoral process and submitted their complaints to the body responsible for overseeing the election -- the Guardian Council.

Mousavi and Karroubi have called on the council to nullify Friday's vote and hold the election anew. This is while President Ahmadinejad and his Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli have rejected any possibility of fraud, saying that the election was free and fair.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Mousavi calls day of mourning for Iran dead

2009-06-17

Heavy EFL; just the new stuff.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Defeated candidate Mirhossein Mousavi urged supporters to stage peaceful protests or gather in mosques to mourn those killed after a disputed presidential poll set off Iran's worst unrest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. "In the course of the past days and as a consequence of illegal and violent encounters with (people protesting) against the outcome of the presidential election, a number of our countrymen were wounded or martyred," Mousavi said.

"I ask the people to express their solidarity with the families ... by coming together in mosques or taking part in peaceful demonstrations," said Mousavi, adding that he would take part in the day of mourning planned for Thursday.

This is clever; guarantees a large turnout, and Muslims generally are very .. expressive .. when mourning their dead.

Mousavi's statement on his website did not refer to a protest called for Wednesday.

Further protests planned for Wednesday and Thursday are a direct challenge to the authorities who have kept a tight grip on dissent since the U.S.-backed shah was overthrown in 1979 after months of protest. After Monday's deaths, Mousavi had urged followers to call off a planned rally in the same downtown area on Tuesday so the marchers headed north instead. Some sent messages to meet again on Wednesday for a rally at Tehran's central Haft-e Tir Square. In a stark warning, Fars News Agency quoted Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli as saying "no permission has been issued for a gathering or rally in Haft-e Tir Square" on Wednesday.

State television has said the "main agents" behind the turmoil have been arrested with guns and explosives.

Security forces arrested a pro-reform activist and an editor on Wednesday while a provincial prosecutor warned that those causing unrest faced the death penalty. Mohammadreza Habibi, prosecutor-general in Isfahan province, said: "We warn the few ... controlled by foreigners who try to disrupt domestic security by inciting individuals to destroy and to commit arson that the Islamic penal code for such individuals waging war against God is execution."

Habibi's statement is the clearest evidence that the protests have spread into the countryside, and that the thugs are worried.

Tens of thousands of pro-Mousavi supporters defied authorities to rally in Tehran on Tuesday after the seven were killed in Monday's violence but international media were forbidden from leaving their offices to cover the event.

Pro-Mousavi protests have been reported in the cities of Rasht, Orumiyeh, Zanjan, Zahedan, and Tabriz. ISNA news agency said 88 people were arrested during post-election unrest in the city of Mashhad and up to 60 people in the city of Tabriz.

A reformist source said Saeed Laylaz, editor of business daily Sarmayeh, and activist Mohammadreza Jalaiepour were both arrested on Wednesday. Jalaiepour was detained at Tehran's international airport, the source said. Mousavi said arrests would help to widen protests. "I condemn widespread arrests of children of the revolution and I'm warning that the expansion of this method will reveal the ugly face of those who are against the nation and will motivate people more to continue and expand protests," he said.

An official inquiry was launched into an attack on university students. Iran's Interior Ministry ordered an investigation into an attack on university students which they say was carried out by Islamic Basij militia and police. The inquiry came a day after Iran's influential speaker of parliament, Ali Larijani, condemned the attack on the dormitory of Tehran University.

This is interesting; Larijani is usually one of Khamenei's lap dogs. Fissures in the ruling elite?

One student activist who declined to be named told Reuters on Tuesday that four students were killed during the violence. Tehran University denied anyone had been killed.

Mousavi urged the nation to be calm. "Therefore those rioters who damaged public property and create tension in the society are not part of us," he said, adding: "People have chosen peaceful methods and they avoid violence."

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said on Wednesday that Mousavi's wide support among reformists was "evidence of the will to revolt against oppression."

"We do not want to intervene directly and we are not doing that. But indignation, the need to support democrats, the need to support reformists -- that, we affirm loud and clear."

Thank you France. Now if Obama could muster the same clarity ...

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

High on election, Iran closes presidential polls

2009-06-13

[Iran Press TV Latest] After witnessing an unprecedented turnout in the country's hotly-contested presidential election, Iran closes polling stations but voters already queuing up are allowed to cast their ballots.

Polls were originally due to close at 6 p.m. local time (1330 GMT) but polling stations were ordered by the Interior Ministry to remain open until 10 p.m. as voters continued to stream to polling stations.

Initial results are not expected for at least 12 hours.

The incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad seeks a second term in office while facing a strong challenge from former prime minister Mir-Hossein Moussavi. Two-time parliament Speaker Mehdi Karroubi (1989-1992 and 2000-2004) and Expediency Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei also battled for office.

If none of the four candidates in the race wins more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round, the top two finishers will compete in a runoff on June 19.

Long queues formed at voting centers early in the morning and some people said they waited for more than two hours to cast ballots.

Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli said the turnout is expected to be above 70 percent.

According to source, the number of cast ballot papers amounted to 24 million countrywide by 6 p.m. local time (0330 GMT).

The tight election was preceded by controversial televised debates and massive campaign rallies.

The live debates sparked enthusiasm among the people, particularly the women and younger voters, while many undecided eligible voters who stayed away from the polls in 2005 reportedly participated in the Friday poll.

The hopeful's campaigns were largely dominated by economic issues as the Iranian voters seek better improvements on the issue.

The crucial vote has also generated interest around the world with policymakers closely waiting for its outcome.

In Washington, President Barack Obama said his administration was "excited" about the "robust debate" taking place in Iran and he hoped it would help the two countries to engage "in new ways."

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iran appoints new interior minister

2008-11-19

The Iranian parliament on Tuesday approved President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's nominee as interior minister by a thin margin, two weeks after it sacked his predecessor for lying about his credentials.

Sadeq Mahsouli, a former Revolutionary Guards comrade of the president, takes charge of the ministry responsible for overseeing elections seven months before a presidential poll. Ahmadinejad is expected to run but has yet to declare.

In 2005, Ahmadinejad nominated Mahsouli for the post of oil minister but withdrew ahead of a parliamentary vote of confidence because he had no experience in the crucial oil sector.

Like Ahmadinejad, the 49-year-old Mahsouli is a veteran of the Revolutionary Guards, the elite ideological army which has been steadily encroaching on national politics in the Islamic republic. He has served in provincial government posts and also as a deputy defense minister in charge of planning.

On November 11, the majlis (parliament) voted to sack Ali Kordan as interior minister for lying about his educational credentials and presenting a fake degree from Britain's Oxford University.

Ahmadinejad had praised his nominee to the lawmakers, telling them that he had known Mahsouli for 30 years "during university time and during the hard times and he has always followed the path of the (Islamic) revolution."

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