Iranian parliament approves most of Rohani's cabinet

Iran's parliament on Thursday approved all President Hassan Rohani's big-name nominees for a cabinet of technocrats, which will have the task of implementing his plans to patch up relations with the world and ease international sanctions.

Parliament approved Rohani's choice of foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, a US-educated former UN ambassador who has been at the center of several rounds of secret negotiations to try to overcome decades of estrangement between Washington and Tehran. Parliament rejected three nominations: The education minister, sports minister and science minister. (Reuters)