Iran's Ahmadinejad may face battle over cabinet

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad waits fore starting a welcoming ceremony for Oman Sultan Qaboos bin Saeed in Tehran, August 4, 2009.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addresses the nation on Thursday to present a cabinet expected to include a relative novice as oil minister, but he may face a tough battle to win parliament's approval.

The outcome will another test of how secure the hardliner's grip is on power in the major oil exporter after a disputed June presidential poll that led to street protests and political turmoil.

Ahmadinejad had been expected to submit his proposed list of ministers to the assembly by a Wednesday deadline, but it was not immediately clear if he had done so by midnight (1930 GMT).

Parliament must approve his cabinet and he may get a rough ride from conservatives who dominate the assembly, as well as from moderate foes who see his government as illegitimate.

"If the president does not send the list of proposed ministers, it would be the first case of law violation by the tenth government," vice parliament speaker Mohammad-Reza Bahonar told the Mehr News Agency on Wednesday evening.

State media said Ahmadinejad would deliver a televised speech on Thursday evening, postponed from Wednesday, to introduce his proposed new cabinet to the Iranian people and talk about its goals.

A presidential adviser revealed most of the names on Wednesday, saying Ahmadinejad would name current Commerce Minister Massoud Mirkazemi as new oil minister.

Oil exports account for most of Iran's state revenue. The next minister faces the challenge of boosting oil and gas output under U.S. and U.N. sanctions, imposed because of the dispute over Iran's nuclear program.

The West suspects Iran of seeking to build nuclear weapons. Iran says its program is aimed at peaceful power generation.

Parliamentary affairs adviser Iraj Nadimi said the president would propose to the assembly that Manouchehr Mottaki stays on as foreign minister, the official IRNA news agency reported.

GUARDS BACKGROUND

Several key nominees -- Mirkazemi and the intelligence and interior ministers -- have a background with the elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC). Mirkazemi is a former deputy head of a Guards university.

Seen as fiercely loyal to the values of the Islamic Republic, the force's influence appears to have grown since Ahmadinejad came to power in 2005. Two thirds of his first 21-man cabinet four years ago were IRGC veterans, like himself.

Mirkazemi, an industrial engineer who has little known experience of the oil sector but is seen as an Ahmadinejad ally, would be a surprise choice for the high-profile position of oil minister. He would replace Gholamhossein Nozari.

IRNA's incomplete list includes three women -- at the health, social welfare and education ministries.

It would be the first time that women would hold ministerial positions in the Islamic Republic.

MPs are due to start debating and voting on the proposed cabinet line-up later this month.

"If the proposed ministers do not have the necessary experience and knowledge ... and are not able to carry out their duty, parliament will act tough with them," conservative politician Parviz Sarvari told ISNA news agency.

Ahmadinejad, a hard-liner who was re-elected for a second four-year term in the disputed June 12 vote, failed to get his first three choices for oil minister appointed in 2005 because of parliamentary opposition.

Some of his supporters have abandoned him since the disputed vote which led to the most serious disturbances since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Among other nominees, IRNA said current Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar -- a high-ranking Guards officer -- would be proposed as interior minister. It said the defense ministry job was one of three posts still to be finalized.

Heydar Moslehi, Khamenei's former representative in the Guards' ground force, would become intelligence minister after his predecessor was sacked and Economy Minister Shamseddin Hosseini would retain the post, according to IRNA's list.

(Additional reporting by Zahra Hosseinian, Reza Derakhshi and Fredrik Dahl; Editing by Charles Dick)