Iran’s parliament on Wednesday approved all members of the Cabinet’s ministers proposed by President Masoud Pezeshkian. The approval came after days of deliberations. Pezeshkian took office last month.
State media quoted Pezeshkian as saying at the first Cabinet meeting that his administration has made a promise with the people and will stick to it until the end.
Abbas Araghchi was approved as the minister of foreign affairs. He has served as an ambassador to Japan. He also played a key role in negotiating Tehran’s 2015 nuclear agreement with six world powers.
The Pezeshkian administration has expressed readiness to try to improve relations with the West in a bid to have economic sanctions lifted.
But Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei earlier vowed to take revenge on Israel over the killing of a Hamas political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran in July.
Iran has indicated it will decide on the timing and method of retaliation after seeing how the talks progress between Israel and Hamas on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
If Iran retaliates, it is certain to spark a backlash from Western countries. The new Cabinet is treading rough waters as tensions run high in the region.