Iran: New Oil Minister Appointed, Security Forces Kill Former MP’s Daughter

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appointed a new caretaker Oil Minister after being threatened with judicial action over his self-appointment. However, his appointment of Mohammad Aliabadi, the current head of the Physical Education Organisation and the Olympic Committee, is also seen as a close ally of President Ahmadinejad and has little apparent experience in the energy industry. Hamid-Reza Katouzian, the head of parliament’s energy committee described the appointment as “the worst choice for the oil and gas industry in the current situation and these kinds of decisions will jeopardise the country.”

Meanwhile, plainclothes security forces disrupted the funeral of Ezatollah Sahabi, a former MP and dissident.  In the violence, a security man struck his daughter Haleh Sahabi causing her to have a heart attack.  She later died in the hospital. State Department Spokesman Mark Toner condemned her killing in the strongest possible terms and said the U.S. will recommend the Special Rapporteur for Iran at the Human Rights Council investigate the incident.