Rostam Ghasemi, who is blacklisted by western powers, could have major role in determining global oil price
Saeed Kamali Dehghan
The Guardian [UK]
27 July 2011
Appointment of Rostam Ghasemi as Iran's oil minister and head of Opec would give him and the revolutionary guards access to an influential international platform. Photograph: Alireza Sotakbar/AFP/Getty Images
A senior commander of Iran’s revolutionary guards, who is subject to comprehensive international sanctions, has been nominated as the country’s oil minister, a position that currently includes the presidency of Opec.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, sent a list of four ministers, including Rostam Ghasemi, commander of the revolutionary guards’ Khatam al-Anbia military and industrial base, to the parliament for approval, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
Should the parliament confirm Ghasemi’s nomination next week, the commander, who is targeted by US, EU and Australian sanctions, will be automatically appointed as head of Opec, giving the revolutionary guards access to an influential international platform.
Under Iran’s constitution the president is in charge of appointing cabinet ministers, who take office after the approval of parliament.
Iran took the Opec presidency in October last year, its first time at the head of the oil exporters’ cartel since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Unrest in the Middle East, especially the ongoing war in Libya, has given Opec a crucial role in determining the current oil price. Iran is the second-largest crude oil exporter in Opec.
The article continues at the Guardian.
