Iranian Oil Minister Resigns Amid Economic Crisis

Iran's oil minister, Mohsen Paknejad, has resigned without giving a reason for his departure. The presidential office announced his resignation on Sunday and said President Masoud Pezeshkian had accepted it. Mehdi Tabatabaei, the deputy for communications and media affairs at the president's office, confirmed that Hamid Bovard, chief executive of the state-owned National Iranian Oil Company, has been appointed as the acting oil minister.

The resignation comes as Iran faces one of its most severe economic crises in history. The US naval blockade and tighter sanctions have restricted oil exports and access to foreign currency. In September, Iran loaded no crude oil onto tankers for the first time since the US-Israeli war began on February 28, compared with about 250,000 barrels per day in August.