Iran’s oil minister resigns for personal reasons, state media reports

Iran’s Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad has resigned for personal reasons, and ⁠Hamid Bovard, chief ⁠executive of the government-owned National Iranian Oil Company, will be acting minister, state ⁠media said on Sunday.

Mohsen Paknejad, oil minister of the OPEC member country since August 2024, resigned as the seven-month-old war between Iran and the US has put pressure on the country’s economy.

Mehdi ⁠Tabatabaei, communications ⁠deputy in the president’s office, told state TV that Paknejad resigned for personal reasons “a long time ago” and his resignation was accepted by President Masoud Pezeshkian at Paknejad’s ⁠insistence.

“With acceptance of Mohsen Paknejad’s resignation by Dr. Pezeshkian, Hamid Bovard has been appointed as acting oil minister,” Tabatabaei said earlier on Sunday, according to state media.

Before news ⁠of ‌his ‌resignation, Paknejad was ⁠quoted by state media ‌as saying: “The revenues of the oil that we ⁠have sold are ⁠still coming and that will continue, ⁠God willing.”