May 24 - 2011 Iranian Parliament (Majlis) Speaker Ali Larijani has stressed the importance of appointing a caretaker for the Oil Ministry “at the earliest” oppotunity. “Now that the Guardian Council has clarified the issue, the caretaker for Iran's Oil Ministry should be introduced as soon as possible,” Larijani said in the Majlis open session on Tuesday. “The council's views should be implemented,” he added, Mehr news agency reported. Larijani's remarks came after the Guardian Council described Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's decision to temporarily run the country's Oil Ministry as “illegal,” saying it runs counter to the provisions of Article 135 of Iran's Constitution. The council, which is charged with interpreting the Constitution, argues that according to the article, the Iranian chief executive is only allowed to appoint a caretaker minister in three months. In a televised speech on May 15, President Ahmadinejad said he will run Iran's Oil Ministry temporarily following his decision to relieve three Iranian ministers of their duties as part of a plan to merge ministries. The Iranian government announced plans on May 9 to merge the ministries of Roads and Transportation with Housing and Urban Development, Energy with Oil, Industries and Mines with Commerce, and Welfare and Social Security with Labor and Social Affairs. President Ahmadinejad issued three separate decrees on May 14, dismissing Welfare Minister Sadeq Mahsouli, Minister of Mines and Industries Ali Akbar Mehrabian and Oil Minister Massoud Mirkazemi from their posts according to the 53rd article of the Fifth Five-Year Development Plan. According to Iran's Fifth Five-Year Development Plan (2010-2015), the Iranian government is obliged to reduce its ministries form 21 to 17 to officially improve the efficiency of state administration.