Iranian lawmakers blast Cabinet picks

TEHRAN, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- The proposed Cabinet portfolio offered by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was met with objections from leading members of Parliament.

Ahmadinejad submitted his list of Cabinet ministers to the Iranian Parliament for approval late Wednesday evening. Lawmakers will examine the list beginning Sunday with a confidence vote scheduled for Aug. 30, state-funded broadcaster Press TV reports.

Among the more prominent seats is the nomination of Manouchehr Mottaki for a second term as foreign minister.

Heyder Moslehi, a former representative of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was nominated as the next intelligence minister, while Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, a former top official in the elite Revolutionary Guard, was nominated as the next interior minister.

Three women were among the nominees as well.

Mohammad Reza Bahonar, and early Ahmadinejad critic and deputy speaker of Parliament, blasted the decision, saying Parliament would reject several of the ministers.

"Some of my colleagues and I believe that close to five ministers proposed by Mr. Ahmadinejad will not receive a vote of confidence," he said.

The Cabinet shake-up comes against the backdrop of political upheaval brought on by the contested presidential election in June that brought a second term to Ahmadinejad, the former mayor of Tehran.