Iran’s Khatami Wins Approval for All 20 Cabinet Nominees

In a victory for Iran’s reform-minded president, parliament on Wednesday approved all 20 of his Cabinet nominees despite the reservations of hard-liners and liberals alike.

President Mohammad Khatami called his new ministers “competent, committed and compatible” with his plans to bring social and political change to Iran.

“Your yes vote is great capital for all of us,” Khatami told lawmakers after the vote. The new Cabinet held its first session Wednesday evening.

During four days of debate, some reformist legislators worried that the Cabinet members lacked the credentials to push through changes, while hard-liners questioned their dedication to economic development. Others were critical of Khatami for not naming women to any ministerial posts.

“Public opinion was not happy with some nominees, and legislators seriously objected to them, but some later changed their minds and did not resist,” said reformist legislator Jalal Jalalizadeh.

The results were read out in open session after the 276 legislators present voted in a secret ballot. The 20 nominees each received at least 139 votes, the minimum needed for confirmation.

The Bush administration reacted cautiously to the vote, with State Department spokesman Philip T. Reeker declining to say whether the administration saw it as a sign of moderation.

“That’s a decision for the people and leaders of Iran,” Reeker said. He said the time is still not right for the United States to hold talks with Iran.

Of the nominees, incumbent Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh came under the harshest attack from Iran’s lawmakers.

“Mismanagement is overwhelming in the Oil Ministry,” reformist lawmaker Ahmad Meidari said during debate Wednesday. “Continuation of Zanganeh’s policies is crisis-creating and disastrous.”

Zanganeh has been criticized for funding development of Iran’s oil and gas fields through buyback programs, which permit foreign companies to develop fields using their own money before being paid back with a portion of output from the fields.