TEHRAN – New Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is set to appear at the Iranian Parliament on Saturday to defend the list of 19 ministers he has presented to his former colleagues for approval. 

The proposed ministers must secure a vote of confidence from a majority of lawmakers – at least 146 out of 290 – in order to take office.

Pezeshkian will be given 2.5 hours to defend his list before the MPs. 10 lawmakers will then deliver speeches on the proposed choices before voting begins. 

The president submitted the list of his new cabinet members to Parliament on Sunday, less than two weeks after he was sworn in before the country’s legislators. The proposed list drew criticism from a number of individuals in Iran’s Reformist camp. Some believe that the cabinet should contain more Reformist figures, as the faction was the main patron of Pezeshkian during his presidential campaign.

Pezeshkian, however, has defended his cross-party proposals, saying the proposed cabinet reflects the sense of national unity that he campaigned for during the snap presidential elections in June and July.

In a post published on his X page, the president described the public sensitivity to his choices for the list of 19 cabinet ministers as highly valuable and added that criticizing the conduct of politicians was much better than indifference. “This means we have moved a step forward ... wait and then evaluate the cabinet based on its performance.”

The new president’s cabinet of choice consists of three ministers from the late President Ebrahim Raisi’s administration. Most of the figures on the list will be taking ministerial positions for the first time in their careers. For the first time in over 13 years, a woman has been nominated for a ministerial position in Iran. The female politician in question has been put forward for the post of Minister of Road and Urban Development.

Among other notable figures suggested by Pezeshkian is Abbas Araqchi, a seasoned Iranian diplomat who led the JCPOA talks with the 5+1 group of countries. He is currently the secretary of Iran’s Foreign Policy Council, which is believed to be an influential body in determining Iran’s diplomatic and foreign policy decisions.