Iran Approves Its President’s 4th Pick for Oil Post
Parliament on Sunday approved President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s fourth nominee for oil minister, ending months of political brawling over the top cabinet job. Iran, which is the world’s fourth-largest producer of crude oil, has been without top-level direction for its oil policy since August, with output capacity sliding and no new production deals signed. Kazem Vaziri-Hamaneh, the nominee approved Sunday, was the acting oil minister and served as a deputy oil minister under former President Mohammad Khatami, whose reformist allies Mr. Ahmadinejad defeated in elections in June. Full Story