Who are nominees for top positions in Pezeshkian’s cabinet?

President Masoud Pezeshkian has entrusted the task of selection of three nominees for every position in his cabinet to five committees. Some names are mentioned more than others in Iranian political circles now.

The reform-oriented Pezeshkian’s proposed cabinet must first and foremost meet Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s criteria. Additionally, it should not alienate the array of political groups that supported him, nor the ordinary Iranians who voted for change. Furthermore, his proposed cabinet must secure a vote of confidence from a parliament dominated by ultra-hardliners and hardliners.

The president’s powers in the appointment of ministers and even deputy ministers of foreign affairs, interior, intelligence, and defense are particularly limited since these ministries are considered as Khamenei’s domain according to an unwritten law.

These officials are also members of several high state councils by virtue of their position including the Supreme National Security Council.

The following are some of the names flying around more than others in Iranian political circles and the media as nominees for the positions of foreign, interior and intelligence minister.

Foreign minister

Former Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif campaigned relentlessly for Pezeshkian. He was largely believed to be offered a prominent position in the cabinet. Zarif announced that he has no intention of accepting any positions in Pezeshkian’s cabinet including the position of first vice president. Reports indicate that he will be a top strategic advisor to the president.

Nevertheless, Zarif who advocates normalization of relations with the West and revival of the 2015 nuclear deal was likely to be fiercely opposed as foreign minister, particularly by supporters of rival presidential contender Saeed Jalili in the parliament. There are some suggestions that he may be appointed as Iran's UN ambassador.

His former deputy Abbas Araghchi who also served as a member of his nuclear negotiation team is among diplomats whose name is most brought out in discussions over the appointment of Pezeshkian’s foreign minister. Araghchi is currently the secretary of the Strategic Foreign Relations Council, a think-tank formed by Khamenei’s order.

Former foreign minister Ali-Akbar Salehi under populist Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2011-2013) is another candidate suggested for the post. Salehi headed Iran's Atomic Energy Organization from 2013 to 2021.

Intelligence minister

Candidates for the position must be qualified to pronounce independent interpretation of the law Sharia (ijtihad).

One of the figures that meets the criterion is Mostafa Pourmohammadi, the only conservative approved to run in the snap elections. The former deputy intelligence minister who served as minister of justice under Hassan Rouhani from 2013 to 2017 surprised the public during election debates where he defended better relations with the world, more social freedoms for Iranians, and an end to Internet bans.

Pourmohammadi’s name is tied with the three-person committees established by the state to oversee the purge of political prisoners in Iranian prisons in 1988.

Interior minster

Iran's new interior minister will be facing many challenges including the issues of hijab enforcement and illegal Afghan immigration.

Some Iranian politicians and journalists claim Pezeshkian has chosen politician and former lawmaker Elias Hazrati as interior minister.

Hazrati served as a division commander in the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) during the Iran-Iraq War (1980-88) and is currently a member of the central council of the reformist Etemad Melli Party formed by Mehdi Karrubi, one of the leaders of the Green Movement in 2005.

Mostafa Pourmohammadi and Mahmoud Alavi who served as intelligence minister under moderate Hassan Rouhani from 2013 to 2021 have also been suggested as a possible candidate. The latter, also a conservative, supported Pezeshkian in the elections and appeared alongside him at one of the campaign meetings. Alavi is a former member of the Assembly of Experts.

Some have also suggested former reformist lawmaker and politician Majid Ansari as a possible nominee. Ansari, the secretary of the reformist Combatant Clerics’ Association, served as the legal and parliamentary deputy in the cabinet of the reformist Mohammad Khatami and is currently a member of the Expediency Council by Khamenei’s appointment.