Iranian oil minister quits, replaced by oil executive: presidency

Iran's oil minister Mohsen Paknejad has resigned and been replaced by the country's top oil executive, the president's office said in a statement on Sunday, amid a blockade on Tehran's oil exports by the United States.

"Following the acceptance of Mohsen Paknejad's resignation, Hamid Bovard", the CEO of the National Iranian Oil Company, "has been appointed as acting Minister of Oil by a decree from the president", said the statement carried by state broadcaster IRIB.

In a news bulletin on the minister's resignation, state television ran an interview with an official from the Iranian presidential office who said Paknejad initially offered his resignation a while ago "due to personal issues" but this was rejected.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had asked Paknejad to continue in his post but was now accepting his departure as the minister had insisted on leaving, the official added.

He said that Pezeshkian "commended his efforts and sincere service" after accepting his decision to quit.

The crucial Strait of Hormuz waterway has been the focal point of the Middle East war, as a fifth of the world's oil and LNG passed through it before the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran in late February.

Tehran has been blocking the passage of commercial ships, firing on vessels it accuses of unauthorised crossings.

Washington responded with a counterblockade of Iranian ports in an effort to prevent Tehran from exporting its oil.

Earlier in the war, capital Tehran and other Iranian cities at times saw queues build up at petrol stations as Washington choked the country's economy.