Iran’s Majlis on 3 August approved the new oil minister proposed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Of the 246 lawmakers present, 216 voted in favor of appointing Rostam Qasemi, who is head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ engineering and construction company, Khatam al-Anbia. In this role Mr Qasemi is already subject to US and EU sanctions, which would impact his international duties during Iran’s presidency of OPEC.