Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed the Oil Ministry, and says he will run Iran’s Oil Ministry himself: “The Iranian government and Parliament (Majlis) have consensus on the Oil Ministry merger…I am the caretaker for the Oil Ministry.”

Iran’s Five Year Development Plan requires the merger of several Ministries, to make the government more efficient.  Those mergers are Roads and Transportation with Housing and Urban Development, Energy with Oil, Industries and Mines with Commerce, and Welfare and Social Security with Labor and Social Affairs.

Despite the fact that the mergers are required by law, under the five year plan, Ahmadinejad is being criticized by those ministers who’ve lost their jobs.

Some Parliament members say Ahmadinejad was supposed to get their approval before merging the ministries.  Ahmadinejad says the Parliament did approve the Oil Ministry merger.