TEHRAN, 31 August 2021, (TON): Iran’s hard-liner dominated Parliament voted to approve most of the ministers proposed by newly elected President Ibrahim Raisi, state TV reported.

Lawmakers voted in favor of 18 of 19 ministers proposed by Raisi after five days of hearings and discussions.

They did not approve Hossein Baghgoli, nominated for education minister, whose experience was disputed during hearings. He received 76 votes out of 286 present lawmakers. The chamber has 290 seats.

Raisi had appealed to lawmakers to vote quickly to approve his nominees so the government can get to work dealing with the pandemic and economic situation in the country suffering from years of sanctions by the US.

Raisi has said “his foreign policy will focus on engagement with all nations and the removal of sanctions. New Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, who received 270 votes from lawmakers, said his ministry “would not run away from the negotiating table” and will do its best to remove all sanctions against the country.

Amirabollahian, 56, has served in a range of administrations over the decades. He was deputy foreign minister for Arab and African Affairs under former populist hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, known in the West for his Holocaust denial and disputed re-election in 2009.

When relative moderate President Hassan Rouhani entered office in 2013, Amirabollahian kept his job before leaving to become an international affairs adviser to the former Parliament speaker. Rouhani struck the nuclear deal with world powers that granted Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.