Iran's Pick for Oil Post Signals Power Shift

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BY FARNAZ FASSIHI AND BENOÎT FAUCON

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad nominated a sanctioned senior official from the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to take the role of oil minister, his latest push to tighten control over the country's most strategic sector.

Brig. Gen. Rostam Ghasemi heads Khatam al-Anbiya, the most powerful economic wing of the Revolutionary Guards, with diverse interests in construction, oil and gas, telecommunications and other sectors. He would be the first commander from the elite paramilitary force to move into a ministerial post not related to defense.

The nomination is a strategic gain for the Guards, which is responsible for ...

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