Iran oil minister resigns for personal reasons: reports
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Iran’s Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad has resigned for personal reasons, and Hamid Bovard, chief executive of the government-owned National Iranian Oil Company, will be acting minister, state media report.
Paknejad, oil minister of the OPEC member country since August 2024, resigned as the seven-month-old war between Iran and the United States has put pressure on the country’s economy.
Mehdi Tabatabaei, communications deputy in the president’s office, told state TV that Paknejad resigned for personal reasons “a long time ago” and his resignation was accepted by President Masoud Pezeshkian at Paknejad’s insistence.
“With acceptance of Mohsen Paknejad’s resignation by Dr Pezeshkian, Hamid Bovard has been appointed as acting oil minister,” Tabatabaei said earlier on Sunday, according to state media.
Before news of his resignation, Paknejad was quoted by state media as saying “revenues of the oil that we have sold are still coming and that will continue God willing”.
It comes as Iran’s oil exports face intense pressure from tightened US sanctions and a naval blockade.
Iran’s ability to export oil is a crucial source of government revenue.
Iran has demanded that the US lift sanctions on its oil sales and end the blockade as part of negotiations over reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
with AP
Reuters