The Making of Iran’s New Cabinet

The Iranian parliament has approved the first woman Cabinet minister, Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi, in the 30-year history of the Islamic republic. Parliament also gave its blessing as defense minister to a man wanted in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in Argentina that killed 85 people.

The BBC:

Iranian MPs have approved the first woman minister in the 30-year history of the Islamic republic.

She was one of 18 nominations for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s new cabinet to be approved. Two other women were among three rejected nominees.

The president’s choice for defence minister, Ahmad Vahidi, who is wanted by Argentina over a deadly 1994 bombing of a Jewish centre, won strong backing.

The vote follows months of wrangling after disputed elections in June.

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The vote on his Cabinet choices is seen as a key test of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s support and his grip on power after June’s contested election.