Iran's supreme leader praised for Cabinet

TEHRAN, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- The deputy speaker of the Iranian Parliament thanked the supreme leader for his guidance in getting approval for the majority of the new Cabinet ministers.

"If we had not received the leader's recommendations, eight or nine ministers would have failed to win the vote of confidence," said vice speaker Mohammad Reza Bahonar. "It would not have been a good start for the government."

Iranian lawmakers Thursday approved 18 of the 21 ministers proposed by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for his next administration.

Lawmakers approved the nomination of Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi as the next health minister. She becomes the first woman to serve in a Cabinet position since 1979.

Ahmad Vahidi won the most votes in Parliament for defense minister. His nomination is contentious due to his ties to the bombing of a Jewish community center in Argentina in 1994.

Bahonar welcomed the "friendly" guidance of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. He added the ruling cleric called on lawmakers to work "at the earliest and with fullest capacity" to tackle the domestic and international threats facing Iran, the Fars News Agency reports.

Apart from its relationship with the United States and Israel, Iran is facing a looming political crisis in the wake of the contested June 12 presidential elections.

Civil unrest in June evolved into a vibrant opposition movement led by defeated presidential candidate and former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi that tainted the second Ahmadinejad administration.