Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is facing criticism of his cabinet nominees both at home and abroad, as the political turmoil in the country deepens less than a month into his second term.
Mr. Ahmadinejad introduced 21 cabinet nominees last week and, as the law stipulates, submitted the list to Parliament for a vote of confidence. Parliament said Sunday that it would review and vote on the cabinet over a three-day period starting Aug. 30.
The names drew harsh criticism, even from his allies, as they surfaced. Some lawmakers said they were reluctant to approve the candidates because many lacked the appropriate skills and experience.
“It appears his choices for a cabinet are even weaker than the previous government. We are not obliged to vote for the president’s list,” cleric and lawmaker Mehdi Pour Fatemi told a semiofficial parliamentary news agency.
Mr. Ahmadinejad’s pick of three women ministers — for the health, education and welfare, and social-security portfolios — scandalized clerics in the holy city of Qum, who warned that there are limits to women’s abilities. Women activists questioned the hard-line president’s motives and charged that these female candidates would only push his agenda.
His choice for defense minister, Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, drew international condemnation. Mr. Vahidi, who served as commander in chief of the Quds Force unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, is one of five prominent Iranians wanted by Interpol for the bombing of a Jewish cultural center in Argentina in 1994. The attack killed 85 people.
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