Rostam Qasemi speaks during his confirmation as the new Minister of Oil in parliament in Tehran August 3, 2011. [Photo/Agencies]

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's parliament approved a senior Revolutionary Guard commander as the country's new oil minister on Wednesday, further expanding the enormous influence that the country's top military branch wields in politics, business and other areas of civilian life.

The new minister, Gen. Rostam Qasemi, is on a list of US and European sanctions for his alleged links to the country's disputed nuclear program, but that is not expected to limit his ability to travel internationally as oil minister.

The parliament, dominated by hard-line conservatives, approved his nomination easily in a 216-22 vote with seven abstentions. There were, however, some opponents who argued that further raising the Revolutionary Guard's clout in nonmilitary matters was a risky step.

"The integration of the Guard, as a military force, in political and economic power is not in the interests of the system," conservative lawmaker Ali Motahari said. "In neighboring countries, military officials are distancing themselves from politics and power, while it's the opposite in Iran."

That provoked anger from hard-liners who showed their displeasure with Motahari's sentiments by shouting, "Death to the US"

Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani called for a strong yes vote for Qasemi, saying Iranians should be proud to give key portfolios to the military force.

Qasemi, who will resign his military post to take up the ministry job, was the chief of Khatam-ol-Anbia, considered the Revolutionary Guard's most important financial unit and currently the largest contractor of government projects in Iran. Those include major oil, gas and telecommunications projects.

The United States accuses Khatam-ol-Anbiya of funneling revenues from its construction business back into Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program and has ordered a freeze of Qasemi's assets outside Iran.

Qasemi has also been targeted by European and Australian sanctions, but none of these includes a travel ban that might prevent him from attending key international meetings as oil minister.

The West accuses the Guard as a whole of directing Iran's nuclear program _ evidence, they say that the atomic work has a military dimension. The Guard is also involved in a missile program that the West fears could give Iran the capability to send a nuclear warhead across continents. Iran denies having such intentions.

Iran says its nuclear program, which is under investigation by the UN nuclear agency and has drawn four sets of Security Council sanctions, is entirely for peaceful purposes like the generation of nuclear power.

Qasemi has not made any public comments on the US allegations, but generally Guard commanders deny any role in the nuclear program.