Iran’s President Massoud Pezheskian is facing fierce criticism over the composition of his cabinet, even before the Iranian parliament gives a vote of confidence to the new government. The choice of some conservative ministers is not consistent, according to critics, with the reform course that he promised during the pre-election campaign that he would follow after taking office.

The new president responded to his critics that, although he is open to criticism, ministers should be given a chance. “Wait for the cabinet to get down to business and criticize them based on their actions,” Masoud Pezheskian wrote today in a post on Platform X (formerly Twitter).

Political analysts estimate that Pezheskian was forced by the parliament – ​​which is dominated by hardliners – to include specific names in the composition of the cabinet.

In protest at the composition of the cabinet, Deputy Prime Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif resigned on Monday, just 11 days after his appointment. He revealed that he had not agreed with the selection of at least seven of the 19 ministers and thus decided to resign and devote himself to his academic work.

Zarif served as foreign minister from 2013 to 2021 and, as head of Iran’s negotiating team, managed to seal the 2015 international agreement with the six major powers on Tehran’s nuclear program. Together with him and a new group of diplomats, President Pezheskian hoped to resume negotiations on the nuclear program with the aim of lifting sanctions that are crippling Iran’s economy.