Tehran - The Iranian parliament on Tuesday approved Sadeq Mahsouli, a former university lecturer, as interior minister, Tehran radio reported.

Mahsouli, 49, an ideological ally of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, received the support of 138 of the 273 deputies voting at the confirmation hearing, the report said.

Mahsouli is replacing Ali Kordan, who was dismissed by parliament last week for having presented the lawmakers a faked Oxford University honorary doctorate.

The interior minister is directly in charge of the presidential elections scheduled for June, in which Ahmadinejad is to seek a second term in office.

Mahsouli was born in 1959 in Oroumieh in north-western Iran and holds a master's degree in development and management.

After the 1979 Islamic revolution, he joined the Revolutionary Guards and later became deputy defence minister. He was then appointed as deputy governor of the West Azerbaijan province and later governor of his hometown. (dpa)