Iran Parliament Approves Two Ministers, Rejects Third

Iran's parliament, dominated by conservatives, on Sunday approved two new members of moderate President Hassan Rouhani's government but rejected a third, media reported.

Ali Asghar Fani was approved for education and Reza Faraji Dana for the science, research and technology portfolio, but legislators rejected Reza Salehi Amiri, who had been nominated to become minister of sports and youth.

Several deputies criticized Salehi Amiri over his involvement in the protests that followed the re-election of hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009, while others accused him of corruption.

Faraji Dana, who holds a doctorate from the University of Waterloo in Canada, had been nominated for the science portfolio in the early 2000s by reformist president Mohammad Khatami, but was rejected by parliament, then dominated by reformists.

Asghar Fani, a reformist, briefly served as interim education minister under Ahmadinejad.

Rouhani has three months to present a new candidate for the sports and youth portfolio.

On August 15 parliament rejected three of the 18 candidates proposed by Rouhani.