Iran Oil Minister Paknejad Resigns Amid War With US

Iranian state media reported on Sunday, Oct 4, 2026, that Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad resigned. An official at the president's office said President Masoud Pezeshkian accepted the resignation and appointed Hamid Bovard, chief of the National Iranian Oil Company, as acting oil minister. Paknejad had held the post since August 2024. Bovard took charge of NIOC on August 29, 2024. State media gave no reason for the resignation. Shortly before the news, Paknejad said revenues from oil already sold were still coming in and would continue. India Today places the Iran-US war in its eighth month; Egypt Oil & Gas places it in its seventh. India Today, citing Reuters, reported the rial at a Saturday record low around 2,688,000 per dollar, more than half its value lost over the past year, inflation above 70 percent, a 10.1% year-on-year economic contraction between March 21 and June 20, and a 26.4% drop in oil and gas activity. On Friday the US Treasury announced new sanctions on Iran's rail and automotive sectors under Operation Economic Outcast; Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the aim was to drain the regime's revenue once and for all. President Donald Trump said Saturday oil prices were falling and claimed Iran had virtually given up nuclear weapon plans.