Ahmadinejad nominated Revolutionary Guards commander to head the strategic oil ministry

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday nominated a Revolutionary Guards commander, Rostam Qasemi, to head the strategic oil ministry, reports said.
  
Brigadier General Qasemi heads the industrial wing of the elite Guards, Khatam al-Anbiya, which is massively present in the Islamic republic's oil sector.
Iran is the second largest producer of oil cartel OPEC and currently holds its rotating presidency.
 
Qasemi is on a list of Iranians subject to sanctions by the United States, the European Union and Australia.

The appointment of Qasemi has to be ratified by lawmakers in a vote of confidence scheduled for August 3, according to parliament speaker Ali Larijani quoted by the IRNA news agency.