Iranian President breaks norm by appointing sunni to senior position

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday named a politician from the Sunni minority as his vice president for rural development, official media reported.

"By decree, the president designated Abdolkarim Hosseinzadeh to the post of vice president in charge of rural development and disadvantaged areas of the country because of his valuable experience," said the presidential website.

Sunni Muslims account for around 10 percent of Iran's population, where the vast majority are Shiites and Shia Islam is the official state religion.

They have very rarely held key positions of power since the Islamic revolution in 1979.

Iran has numerous vice presidents, who are tasked with leading organisations related to presidential affairs in the country.

A 44-year-old reformer, Hosseinzadeh has since 2012 represented the northwestern cities of Naghadeh and Oshnavieh in the Iranian parliament.

He has spoken out publicly on several occasions in defence of the rights of Iran's Sunnis.

During his election campaign, Pezeshkian, himself a reformer, criticised the lack of representation for ethnic and religious minorities, in particular Sunni Kurds, in important positions.