Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian acknowledged that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei directly intervened in selecting key members of the new government. The entire cabinet was unanimously approved by parliament on Wednesday.
"I invited [Abbas] Salehi (the proposed minister for culture), but he kept refusing. When I told Khamenei that Salehi wouldn’t come, he picked up the phone and told me to tell him to accept,” Pezeshkian confessed. The admission revealed the control the Supreme Leader exercises over the supposedly independent branches of government in Iran, where loyalty to Khamenei trumps any other metric for government selection process, eclipsing merit-based selection.
The parliament, which many view as a mere formality, voted to confirm all 19 of Pezeshkian’s proposed ministers on Wednesday. The votes were overwhelmingly in favor, with figures like Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh winning 281 and Education Minister Alireza Kazemi and Communications Minister Sattar Hashemi receiving as many as 268 and 264 votes out of a total of 290, respectively. Even the least supported nominee, Mohammad Reza Zafarghandi for Health Minister, still secured 163 votes.
Pezeshkian also revealed that ministers like Abbas Araghchi (Foreign Affairs) and Farzaneh Sadegh (Roads and Urban Development) were personally vetted and endorsed by Khamenei.
“I gave the entire list to Khamenei. Everyone came with coordination and consensus,” Pezeshkian admitted.
He urged the MPs "not to disrupt the harmony and unity within his team" and said, "I'm not saying these people are without flaws or that we are ideal, but we have reached an agreement on them."
The president further emphasized, "I had ideals in mind, but when I saw there was no agreement or consensus, I stepped back from them because consensus is more important to me. I compromised, and I will continue to compromise for the sake of unity."
Pezeshkian added, "We reached an agreement with the security organizations, the IRGC, and the intelligence agencies, and together we presented this cabinet list."
The disparity between the system's frequent boasts of democratic principles and its observed practices has led observers to question the authenticity of the system's institutions.
Many believe that the Wednesday parliamentary session was less about debate and decision-making, and more about rubber-stamping the will of Iran’s ultimate authority. The overwhelming vote counts—such as 272 votes for Abbas Salehi—highlight the absence of genuine opposition within the parliament, where Khamenei’s word is law.