Vaziri-Hamaneh is a veteran Oil Ministry official who served in the previous government as a deputy oil minister.
Fars quoted informed sources as saying he would be replaced by Ali Kordan, Gholam-Hossein Nozari, or Ali-Asghar Zarei, with Kordan being the favourite to win the post due to his background in administrative tasks.
The important portfolio of Oil Minister was vacant for several months when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became President in late 2005, as deputies in the hardline-dominated Majlis (Parliament) voted down three other nominees for the job on the grounds that they were not capable of handling the vital oil sector.
