Rostam Qasemi speaks during his confirmation as Iran’s new oil minister on August 3.
August 03, 2011
The Iranian parliament has approved President Mahmud Ahmadinejad’s candidate as oil minister by a huge majority.
As many as 216 of the 246 lawmakers present voted in favor of Rostam Qasemi, a commander of the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps who is under international sanctions on suspicion of being involved in Iran’s efforts to develop nuclear weapons.
Tehran denies having any such goal.
Qasemi takes control of the oil ministry as Iran, the world’s fifth-biggest crude exporter, holds the rotating presidency of OPEC.
