Iran's Parliament Approves Ahmadinejad's New Cabinet Ministers

Iran's state-run media say the country's parliament has approved the remaining three Cabinet nominees proposed by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Iranian lawmakers voted Sunday to accept current parliament member Hamid Reza Hajibabai as the new education minister. They also accepted former Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli as the new minister of welfare, and former Deputy Energy Minister Majid Namjou as the new energy minister.

Parliament approved 18 of Mr. Ahmadinejad's Cabinet choices in September but voted down his original choices for these three posts.

Mr. Ahmadinejad's re-election in June triggered protests, with opposition candidates and their supporters claiming the vote had been rigged.

Some Iranians continued their protests earlier this month.

Iranian security forces arrested 109 people during anti-government protests that coincided with rallies marking the storming of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran 30 years ago.

The head of Tehran police, Azizollah Rajabzadeh, told the state-run IRNA news agency that authorities charged 62 people detained during the November 4 rallies with disturbing public order. He said authorities released the other 47.

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran says security forces and militia used "brutal force" to disperse the thousands of Iranians who joined the anti-government protests across the country.

The rallies were some of the largest demonstrations reported since the massive street protests against President Ahmadinejad's re-election.

Many people were reported killed in the government crackdown after the election. More than 1,000 political activists, journalists and others were detained.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.