Iran's Parliament Approves 18 Cabinet Nominees

Iran's Parliament Approves 18 Cabinet Nominees
By VOA News 03 September 2009
General view of Iranian parliament during open session held for voting, 3 Sep 2009 Iran's parliament has approved 18 nominees put forward by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for his 21-member Cabinet, including the first woman to serve as a minister since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Lawmakers voted Thursday after five consecutive days of debate.
The single approved female nominee, Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi, will head the health ministry.
The nominees for the energy, education, and welfare ministries were rejected. Two of them were women.
Among the 18 approved ministers is Mr. Ahmadinejad's choice for defense minister, Ahmad Vahidi. Argentina says Vahidi was involved in the bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish center in 1994.
Vahidi is wanted by the international police agency (Interpol) for alleged ties to the deadly bombing that killed 85 people.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.