New Iran Cabinet 'may worsen nuclear row'

Iran’s new president today nominated a Cabinet that featured hard-liners in key ministries and is likely to lead to more confrontation in the country’s dispute with the West over its nuclear program.

Not one of the 21 ministers that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad nominated is known to be pro-democratic reform in Iran. The nominees are widely seen as followers of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a noted conservative who has the final say on all state matters.