Tehran City Council Elects Third Mayor In 18 Months

Pirouz Hanachi previously served as deputy minister at the Roads and Urban Development Ministry.

The Tehran city council has elected a little-known technocrat to the politically sensitive post of mayor, Iranian state media report.

Pirouz Hanachi, 54, is the third mayor of Tehran to be elected since reformists swept the city-council elections in May 2017.

Hanachi's selection needs to be approved by the Interior Ministry within 10 days in a mostly procedural process.

Hanachi, an architecture professor at Tehran University, has previously served as deputy minister at the Roads and Urban Development Ministry.

He replaces Mohammad Ali Afshani, who came out of retirement to take the mayor's position in May but had to give up office after a law adopted in September banned retirees from holding official posts.

Afshani's predecessor, Mohammad Ali Najafi, who became mayor following the May 2017 polls, resigned in March citing health concerns.

With reporting by AP and AFP