Iran’s Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad has resigned, Iranian state media said on October 4. President Masoud Pezeshkian accepted his resignation, according to an official statement.

Hamid Bovard, the chief executive of the state-run National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), will lead the ministry as acting oil minister until parliament approves a new minister, state media reported.

No official reason was given for the resignation. Mehdi Tabatabaei, a communications official in the president’s office, told state TV that Paknejad had resigned for personal reasons earlier and that Pezeshkian accepted it at his insistence, according to a Reuters report.

Some Iranian media suggested the resignation followed disagreements with the president over interventions in the PGPIC petrochemical company and the handling of oil traders, according to PressTV. These claims have not been officially confirmed.

Paknejad had been oil minister since August 2024, when parliament approved him with 222 of 288 votes, according to Newsbase citing Khabar Online. The change comes as the seven-month war with the United States puts heavy pressure on Iran’s economy, Reuters noted.