Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says he has temporarily assumed the role of oil minister after merging the ministries of oil and energy.
Last week the president dismissed the ministers of industry, social affairs and oil as part of a plan to reduce the number of ministries from 21 to 17.
Yesterday he also announced caretakers for the ministries of social affairs and industry.
Ahmadinejad’s decision to appoint caretakers for the newly merged ministries has been interpreted by some analyst as a retreat from his recent dispute with Parliament.
MPs had accused Ahmadinejad of overstepping his authority by failing to get parliamentary approval for the ministers charged with heading the newly merged ministries.
Ahmadinejad takes over the duties of oil minister as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries prepares for a biannual meeting on June 8. Iran currently holds the OPEC presidency, its first time since the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
Mohammad Ali Khatabi, Iran’s representative to OPEC, has said the president is eligible to chair the June 8 meeting because he is the oil ministry caretaker.
