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Iran's parliament opened negotiations on President Hassan Rouhani’s proposed second-term Cabinet on Aug. 15. That day, the re-elected moderate president said he had been “under no pressure from any faction, party or group” in picking his 17 choices for minister posts.
Yet state media outlets reported in July that Rouhani had traveled to the city of Mashhad to discuss his proposed list with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Several prominent figures have argued the move would reduce the parliament’s freedom to review the Cabinet independently. Outspoken parliamentarian Ali Motahari said any coordination with the supreme leader “would limit the room for discussion.”
