Iranian MP suggests oil minister may be replaced

TEHRAN, May 13 (Reuters) An Iranian lawmaker suggested today that Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri-Hamaneh may soon be replaced.

The Oil Ministry was not immediately available to comment on the remarks carried by the official IRNA news agency.

Vaziri-Hamaneh last month dismissed talk he could be replaced and said he had President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's support.

Shokrollah Attarzadeh, a member of parliament's energy commission, told IRNA that Ali Kordan would ''soon be introduced as the oil minister.'' The report did not spell out whether he meant Ahmadinejad was expected to propose Kordan, who Attarzadeh said was a former senior official of Iran's state broadcasting company, as new minister.

But, under Iranian law, only the president has the power to nominate ministers.

Some media reports had earlier suggested Vaziri-Hamaneh could be moved and cited a dispute concerning management changes at the oil ministry. Those rumours prompted objections from some members of parliament who said he should stay.

Ahmadinejad swept to power in 2005 promising to share out Iran's oil wealth more fairly and pledging to sweep out what he called the ''oil mafia'' in the state-dominated Iranian energy sector.

Three candidates for the post of oil minister in Ahmadinejad's cabinet were rejected by parliament before Vaziri-Hamaneh was accepted for the post.

''Mr Hamaneh was chosen as the minister under extraordinary conditions so that work in the oil ministry would not be delayed,'' Attarzadeh was quoted as saying.

REUTERS DS RAI1922