Iranian president appoints caretaker oil minister

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in a decree on Thursday, appointed Mahammad Aliabadi as the caretaker oil minister, Xinhua reported.

"Due to your commitments, knowledge and helpful administrative record, your are appointed as the caretaker of the Oil Ministry," IRIB quoted the president’s decree as saying.

As an Iranian politician, Aliabadi has served the deputy minister of Iran’s Road and Transportation, deputy of Tehran’s mayor, vice president in Ahmadinejad’s administration and the chief of Iran’s Body Training Organization.

In May, Iran’s Guardian Council of the Constitution said Ahmadinejad’s move to temporarily run the country’s oil ministry is "illegal."

Earlier in the month, the Iranian president said he would run the oil ministry as a caretaker following his move to remove some ministers and to merge some ministries.


/APA/