Iran's president says three women to join his new Cabinet

TEHERAN: Iran's president said yesterday that he will nominate three women to join his new CSabinet, a move that could produce the first female ministers in the country in over 30 years.

The announcement appears to be an attempt by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to enlist the support of Iranian women as he fends off criticism from the opposition that his June re-election was fraudulent. The appointments seem unlikely to appease reformists since both women he named yesterday are fellow hard-liners.

Yesterday, Teheran put on trial 25 more activists and opposition supporters, including a Jewish teenager, for their alleged involvement in the turmoil following the recent presidential election. The new defendants brought the total number to 135.