Iran's new president is going out of line, took a big decision on 44-year-old Sunni Muslim leader

After forming his government, Iran's new President Masoud Pezeshkian has started taking decisions according to his own will. Pezeshkian has trusted a Sunni leader for the post of Vice President of Rural Development. Sunnis constitute only 10 percent of Iran's population and Pezeshkian's decision to choose a minority leader for such a big post is being considered a departure from Iran's line.

"The president, by his order, has nominated Abdulkarim Hosseinzadeh as the vice president for rural development and underprivileged regions of the country due to his valuable experience," a statement posted on the Iranian presidency's website said.

Since the 1979 revolution, there have been very few Sunni leaders who have been entrusted with the leadership of departments related to presidential affairs. 44-year-old Abdulkarim was elected MP from Iran's Naghadeh and Oshnaveh for the first time in 2012. Abdulkarim has been raising his voice for the rights of Iran's Sunnis. During his election campaign, Pezeshkian had promised to give place to ethnic and religious minorities in important positions.

Recently, no Sunni Muslim leader was given a place in the cabinet presented by Pezeshkian, after which questions of discrimination were constantly being raised against him. After this decision, it seems that Pezeshkian has decided to remove these allegations.

Iran is one of the few countries along with Bahrain and Azerbaijan where the Shia population is in the majority. Sunnis in Iran are only 10 percent, who are part of Sunni Muslim ethnic groups like Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen, Baloch, and Achomi Persians. Although there are fewer cases of violence against minorities in Iran, cases like not allowing Sunnis to build their mosques, and discussions on beliefs different from Shia Islam have come to the fore.