Ahmadinejad limps into second term

TEHRAN, Aug. 24 (UPI) -- Mounting criticism against the Cabinet nominations of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad points to looming issues just weeks into his second term.

Ahmadinejad moved in the wake of his disputed June 12 victory to reshuffle his Cabinet for his next administration. The former mayor of Tehran faced criticism during his first term for what some considered were too many changes to his Cabinet portfolio.

Mohammad Reza Bahonar, the vice speaker of the Iranian Parliament, said lawmakers would reject "about five" of the 11 Cabinet picks. Bahonar had threatened to push for a vote of no-confidence prior to the official Cabinet nomination by Ahmadinejad on Thursday.

His decision to pick three women ministers, while appeasing rights activists, earned the ire of clerics in the holy city of Qom, who complained women were not qualified for such positions, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Meanwhile, his pick of Gen. Ahmad Vahidi as his next defense minister was met with international condemnation as the former military commander is wanted by Interpol for his role in the bombing of a Jewish center in Argentina in 1994 that killed 85 people.

Heyder Moslehi, for his part, was scrutinized when Ahmadinejad chose him as the next intelligence minister due to his close ties to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Civil complaints contesting the authenticity of the June 12 vote have evolved into political complications for Ahmadinejad, who now faces a growing opposition, the Journal notes.