Iran’s oil minister resigns, to be replaced by oil executive
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The resignation of Mohsen Paknejad, Iran’s oil minister since August 2024, comes as the seven-month war between Iran and the US puts pressure on the country’s economy.
PHOTO: REUTERS
DUBAI – Iran’s oil minister, Mohsen Paknejad, has resigned and been replaced by the country’s top oil executive, the President’s office said in a statement on Oct 4, amid a blockade on Tehran’s oil exports by the United States.
“Following the acceptance of Mohsen Paknejad’s resignation, Hamid Bovard”, the chief executive of the National Iranian Oil Company, “has been appointed as Acting Minister of Oil by a decree from the President”, said the statement carried by state broadcaster IRIB.
In a news bulletin on the minister’s resignation, state television ran an interview with an official from the Iranian presidential office who said Paknejad initially offered his resignation awhile ago “due to personal issues” but this was rejected.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had asked Paknejad to continue in his post but was now accepting his departure as the minister had insisted on leaving, the official added.
The official said Pezeshkian “commended his efforts and sincere service” after accepting his decision to quit.
The crucial Strait of Hormuz waterway has been the focal point of the Middle East war, as a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passed through it before the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran in late February.
Tehran has been blocking the passage of commercial ships, firing on vessels it accuses of unauthorised crossings.
Washington responded with a counter-blockade of Iranian ports in an effort to prevent Iran from exporting its oil.
Earlier in the war, Tehran and other Iranian cities at times saw queues build up at petrol stations as the US choked the country’s economy. AFP