Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad has resigned, with Hamid Bovard, CEO and Managing Director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), appointed as acting minister, state media reported on Sunday.
State media did not provide a reason for Paknejad’s resignation. He had served as oil minister since August 2024, as the seven-month war between Iran and the US continues to put pressure on the country’s economy.
“With acceptance of Mohsen Paknejad’s resignation by Dr. Pezeshkian [the country’s president], Hamid Bovard has been appointed as acting oil minister,” state media cited an official at the president’s office as saying.
Before the resignation announcement, state media quoted Paknejad as saying, “revenues of the oil that we have sold are still coming and that will continue God willing.”
Bovard previously took charge of NIOC on August 29, 2024, when Paknejad appointed him as the company’s CEO and Managing Director.