Iranian Lawmakers Say Ahmadinejad Ministry Move Illegal

Iran President Mahmud Ahmadinejad

Iran's parliament has denounced President Mahmud Ahmadinejad being a caretaker of the Oil Ministry and sent the report of this "obvious violation of the law" to the judiciary.

The semiofficial Mehr news agency reported that the legislature, which has repeatedly clashed with Ahmadinejad over key policy issues, voted to approve the report by its energy committee.

In May, Ahmadinejad announced that he had taken control of Iran's oil sector as part of a plan to merge several ministries, and sacked former Oil Minister Masud Mirkazemi a day after.

The Guardians Council vetting body in mid-May declared Ahmadinejad's attempt to serve atop the ministry illegal, a ruling that was followed by parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani spearheading a public push for the president to name a new oil minister.

compiled from agency reports