Rouhani’s pick for Ministry of Education, Seyyed Mohammad Bathaei, received mostly positive evaluation, mainly on the account of his longtime experience at the said ministry, and his plans for implementing the document of fundamental transformation of education, which consists of three general principles of Islamic identity (Monotheism, Principles and Teachings of Islam, Pure Existence,…) Iranian identity (Native Development, National Unity, Farsi language,…), and modern identity (New Technologies, Media, Foreign Language).
Rouhani’s pick for Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, who is the youngest nominee for Rouhani’s second-term cabinet, was mostly faced with criticism due to lawmakers’ objection to Jahromi’s handling of Telegram as Rouhani’s admin for the messaging service, which is highly popular among Iranian netizens. Some MPs were also critical about the poor quality of internet connections despite their high costs, as well as Jahromi’s previous position in the Ministry of Intelligence.
Jahromi was one of the deputies to previous ICT Minister Mahmoud Vaezi, and the CEO of Telecommunication Infrastructure Company. Jahromi also served as Director General of Communications Systems Security at the Communication Regulatory Authority of the Ministry of Intelligence in 2009.
In his defense, Jahromi noted his efforts for National Information Network, and talked about his plans for digital economy, developing cyberspace, and improving the infrastructure.
Rouhani’s pick for Ministry of Intelligence, Seyyed Mahmoud Alavi, who has also served four years as the head of the same ministry in Rouhani’s first-term cabinet, also received positive evaluation mostly due to his efforts in foiling terrorist attacks, but the session had to cut short due to time constraints. Parliament will continue debates on his competency for the position in tomorrow's session.
According to MPs’ registry, Rouhani’s picks for ministries of health, foreign affairs, intelligence, and sports have the most in favor and his appointees for ministries of education, labor and ICT have the most against.
If any of the proposed ministers fails to win a vote of confidence, Rouhani will have up to three months to name a replacement.
The next open-floor debates on President Hassan Rouhani’s nominees for other ministerial posts will be held on Wednesday morning.
MS