Iran's Oil Minister Quits Amid Crushing US Sanctions Squeeze
Mehdi Tabatabaei, deputy head of communications at the Iranian president's office, said President Masoud Pezeshkian has accepted the resignation. Hamid Bovard has been named acting oil minister to oversee the ministry's affairs, he added.
No reason was given for the departure, which comes as Iran faces unprecedented US sanctions aimed in particular at its oil sector.
Bovard previously headed the state-run National Iranian Oil Company and has spent most of his career in oilfield operations.
On Saturday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Iran has no oil shipments left at sea and will earn zero oil revenue this week. On Aug. 25, the US Treasury Department announced Operation Economic Outcast, a sweeping campaign to cut Iran off entirely from the global financial system.
The US and Israel launched a war against Iran on Feb. 28. Tehran retaliated with missile and drone strikes across the region and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic route for energy supplies. The US military later imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports.
Efforts to end the war have continued since a June framework deal, which aims to pave the way for a final peace agreement covering navigation through the waterway and Iran's nuclear program.
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