Less than a month in office, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has already found ways to disappoint his legion of supporters. One such instance was when he unveiled his cabinet on August 11.
Dr Pezeshkian had explicitly and repeatedly promised that youth, women and Sunni Muslims would be adequately represented in his team. It was an attempt to make up for the fact that Iran has had zero Sunnis and just one female minister since the 1979 revolution.
Despite his pledge to right this wrong, the President has picked no Sunnis and just one woman. At 48, Farzaneh Sadeq, who is due to take over the roads and urban planning portfolio, is also the youngest among his 19 picks. The average age of the cabinet is 60, making it the oldest since 1979.
What’s worse from the reformists’ viewpoint is that it also includes a number of conservatives, including three men who served in the late Ebrahim Raisi’s administration.
Former foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who headed the President’s transition team, has resigned in protest. The spokesperson of the Iranian Reformist Front, an umbrella of reformist parties whose endorsement helped Dr Pezeshkian secure his election victory, has expressed disappointment.
But the rationale behind these picks became clear on Wednesday, when the President went to the hardliner-dominated Parliament to seek its confirmation. While there, he repeatedly told MPs that his picks had the approval of the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the intelligence authorities.
In essence, the make-up of the cabinet wasn’t his choice alone.
He pointed out that Mr Khamenei had approved several of his choices, including those critiqued by many MPs, such as Abbas Araghchi who is due to take over as foreign minister. He also insisted that his cabinet included people who had served under the centrist Hassan Rouhani as well as those who had worked with conservatives such as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Mr Raisi.
In other words, he claimed, his was a “national consensus” cabinet.
The inability of the hardline MPs to block any of Pezeshkian’s picks is a source of frustration for them
Several MPs protested against the lack of representation. “Can you realise your promise of national consensus while excluding 15 million Sunnis – including Kurds, Baluch and Turkmens?” a Sunni Kurdish MP quipped. Dr Pezeshkian, in a nod to his base, acknowledged that many Iranians were unhappy with the status quo.
That said, there are notable reformists in the cabinet. Incoming finance minister Abdolnaser Hemmati and culture minister Abbas Salehi, both of whom also served under Mr Rouhani, are prominent figures. There are others, too.
Ahmad Meydari, the incoming labour and welfare minister, was labelled by one MP as an extremist for his controversial past as a legislator and for co-signing a harshly critical letter to Mr Khamenei in 2002. The appointment of Hamidreza Zafarqandi, the new health minister, was also met with harsh criticism from some circles for his protest against the disqualification of reformist candidates in the run-up to this year’s parliamentary election.
In the end, Parliament confirmed all the reformists. In fact, it approved all 19 names – for the first time since 2004, when the reformist Mohammad Khatami’s picks got full backing from a reformist-dominated Majlis.
Several names that Dr Pezeshkian put forth even secured more than 90 per cent of the vote, with Brig Gen Aziz Nasirzadeh, the incoming defence minister, getting 281 out of the 288 votes – the most in the Islamic Republic’s history. As a former air force commander who flew sorties during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, Gen Aziz Nasirzadeh is popular across the political spectrum.
The inability of the hardline MPs to block any of Dr Pezeshkian’s picks is undoubtedly a source of frustration for them.
The President’s presentation, especially his appeal to Mr Khamenei’s authority, clearly worked. But his success was possible also because of Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf’s efforts – to help identify some of the cabinet picks as well as to marshal the votes in Parliament. By doing so, Mr Ghalibaf has gone from being a one-time election rival of the President to an ally of his. His decision to aid the President stems in part due to his opposition to many of the hardliners in his own camp. This is an interesting development, as both figures appear to have formed an alliance aimed at prioritising good governance over getting caught up in the demands being made by reformists as well as hardliners.
Several critics of the hardliners have welcomed this new partnership. “All lovers of Iran should know that this country will only see days of calm when extremists have been isolated in every field,” the centrist news outlet Asr Iran wrote. “Pezeshkian’s government is the last hope for the Iranian nation to free itself from the current adverse conditions.”
Of course, such pronouncements risk being exaggerated, as Dr Pezeshkian faces a tall order.
For example, Mr Araghchi, the new foreign minister, has promised to get international sanctions against Iran lifted and to improve the country’s ties with the world, a goal that is key to the President’s economic vision. And yet the new administration insists on continuing to support the Axis of Resistance militias and pursue a broadly anti-western foreign policy.
In Parliament this week, Dr Pezeshkian provided a list of challenges that the country faces, including corruption, poor relations with the rest of the region and the crippling sanctions. He pointed out that Iran was using less than 1 per cent of its capacities despite being at the “strategic core of global energy resources”.
Beyond pointing out the problems, however, he offered few solutions. But in a recent conversation, the exiled former MP Fatemeh Haghighatjoo told me that she was willing to give the new cabinet a chance.
“I’ll judge this government based on what it will do,” she said. “Let’s see if [for example] he’ll stop the enforcement of the mandatory hijab. We must give the cabinet at least six months to see what it can do.”
KEY%20DATES%20IN%20AMAZON'S%20HISTORY
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Kathryn Hawkes of House of Hawkes on being a good guest (because we’ve all had bad ones)
- Arrive with a thank you gift, or make sure you have one for your host by the time you leave.
- Offer to buy groceries, cook them a meal or take your hosts out for dinner.
- Help out around the house.
- Entertain yourself so that your hosts don’t feel that they constantly need to.
- Leave no trace of your stay – if you’ve borrowed a book, return it to where you found it.
- Offer to strip the bed before you go.
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
The five pillars of Islam
So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
The five pillars of Islam
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Borussia Dortmund v Paderborn (11.30pm)
Saturday
Bayer Leverkusen v SC Freiburg (6.30pm)
Werder Bremen v Schalke (6.30pm)
Union Berlin v Borussia Monchengladbach (6.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Wolfsburg (6.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldof v Bayern Munich (6.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Cologne (9.30pm)
Sunday
Augsburg v Hertha Berlin (6.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Mainz (9pm)
T20 World Cup Qualifier fixtures
Tuesday, October 29
Qualifier one, 2.10pm – Netherlands v UAE
Qualifier two, 7.30pm – Namibia v Oman
Wednesday, October 30
Qualifier three, 2.10pm – Scotland v loser of qualifier one
Qualifier four, 7.30pm – Hong Kong v loser of qualifier two
Thursday, October 31
Fifth-place playoff, 2.10pm – winner of qualifier three v winner of qualifier four
Friday, November 1
Semi-final one, 2.10pm – Ireland v winner of qualifier one
Semi-final two, 7.30pm – PNG v winner of qualifier two
Saturday, November 2
Third-place playoff, 2.10pm
Final, 7.30pm
Teaching your child to save
Pre-school (three - five years)
You can’t yet talk about investing or borrowing, but introduce a “classic” money bank and start putting gifts and allowances away. When the child wants a specific toy, have them save for it and help them track their progress.
Early childhood (six - eight years)
Replace the money bank with three jars labelled ‘saving’, ‘spending’ and ‘sharing’. Have the child divide their allowance into the three jars each week and explain their choices in splitting their pocket money. A guide could be 25 per cent saving, 50 per cent spending, 25 per cent for charity and gift-giving.
Middle childhood (nine - 11 years)
Open a bank savings account and help your child establish a budget and set a savings goal. Introduce the notion of ‘paying yourself first’ by putting away savings as soon as your allowance is paid.
Young teens (12 - 14 years)
Change your child’s allowance from weekly to monthly and help them pinpoint long-range goals such as a trip, so they can start longer-term saving and find new ways to increase their saving.
Teenage (15 - 18 years)
Discuss mutual expectations about university costs and identify what they can help fund and set goals. Don’t pay for everything, so they can experience the pride of contributing.
Young adulthood (19 - 22 years)
Discuss post-graduation plans and future life goals, quantify expenses such as first apartment, work wardrobe, holidays and help them continue to save towards these goals.
* JP Morgan Private Bank
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Retail gloom
Online grocer Ocado revealed retail sales fell 5.7 per cen in its first quarter as customers switched back to pre-pandemic shopping patterns.
It was a tough comparison from a year earlier, when the UK was in lockdown, but on a two-year basis its retail division, a joint venture with Marks&Spencer, rose 31.7 per cent over the quarter.
The group added that a 15 per cent drop in customer basket size offset an 11.6. per cent rise in the number of customer transactions.
The years Ramadan fell in May
Scoreline
Al Wasl 1 (Caio Canedo 90 1')
Al Ain 2 (Ismail Ahmed 3', Marcus Berg 50')
Red cards: Ismail Ahmed (Al Ain) 77'
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The years Ramadan fell in May
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE SPECS
GMC Sierra Denali 1500
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Price: Dh232,500
if you go
Zayed Sustainability Prize
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Five ways to get fit like Craig David (we tried for seven but ran out of time)
Start the week as you mean to go on. So get your training on strong on a Monday.
Train hard, but don’t take it all so seriously that it gets to the point where you’re not having fun and enjoying your friends and your family and going out for nice meals and doing that stuff.
Think about what you’re training or eating a certain way for — don’t, for example, get a six-pack to impress somebody else or lose weight to conform to society’s norms. It’s all nonsense.
Get your priorities right.
And last but not least, you should always, always chill on Sundays.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MWTC
Tickets start from Dh100 for adults and are now on sale at www.ticketmaster.ae and Virgin Megastores across the UAE. Three-day and travel packages are also available at 20 per cent discount.
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE results
Lost to Oman by eight runs
Beat Namibia by three wickets
Lost to Oman by 12 runs
Beat Namibia by 43 runs
UAE fixtures
Free admission. All fixtures broadcast live on icc.tv
Tuesday March 15, v PNG at Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Friday March 18, v Nepal at Dubai International Stadium
Saturday March 19, v PNG at Dubai International Stadium
Monday March 21, v Nepal at Dubai International Stadium
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