Iranian President Hassan Rouhani appointed academic Farhad Dejpasand as the new economy and finance minister in a cabinet reshuffle on Sunday as the country faces mounting U.S. sanctions.
The proposed cabinet changes come as the government faces intense pressure over the economic instability mostly caused by U.S. sanctions.
The economy has markedly deteriorated in the past year, suffering rising inflation and unemployment, a slump in the currency and state corruption.
Rouhani also named a new urban development and roads minister, an industry, mines, and trade minister, and a new labour minister. The new appointments need approval from parliament before they can take effect.
Washington reintroduced sanctions against Iran in August after the U.S. withdrawal from a multinational 2015 deal that lifted sanctions in return for limits on Iran’s nuclear program.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ordered officials to urgently find solutions to ease the economic crisis spurred by the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions.