Iranian president names cabinet

Conservatives have resisted Mr Khatami's reforms

By Jane Warr

Iran's President Mohammad Khatami has presented the list of his new cabinet to the Iranian parliament for approval, making few changes.

The only major change in the outgoing cabinet is the nomination of a reformer as the new minister of economy.

Despite his impressive majority, President Khatami's new 20-man cabinet shows that he has not had much room for manoeuvre in choosing his ministers.

Parliament will now consider the proposed cabinet

The new cabinet reflects the fact that he does not have the power to choose the ministers he really needs to implement his policies.

There are only five new faces on the list. He has kept the ministers for defence, foreign affairs, intelligence and culture - the reformists would have liked all of them to go.

Concession

He has also made a concession to the right-wing clergy by not appointing any women to ministerial posts.

Since the revolution in 1979, Iran has not had any female ministers.

The only major change in his cabinet is the nomination of a reformist ally for the ministry of the economy.

The new minister will have to deal with inflation, unemployment, lack of investment and productivity - all of which are major problems for the Iranian economy.

The conservatives will not be happy with the new cabinet either.

They wanted to change the justice minister, nominated by the judiciary, the minister of oil and the reformist minister of the interior.

The parliament has a week to look at the new cabinet and give its verdict.

Despite the pro-reform nature of parliament, it will not be an easy ride for Mr Khatami who has yet to announce his new vice-presidents who do not need to be approved.