Abdulmahdi becomes Oil Minister in tenuous new government Abdulmahdi becomes Oil Minister in tenuous new government (From Right to Left) Iraqi deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlak, Deputy Prime Minister Baha al-Araji, Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Planning Minister Salman al-Jumaili and Oil Minister Adel Abdul-Mehdi sit after being approved during a parliamentary session to vote on Iraq’s new cabinet on Sept. 8, 2014. [AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images] The new Iraqi government, approved by Parliament on Monday, has a nominally inclusive government led by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, though it is already straining for support among the country’s Kurdish and Sunni minorities. Former Iraqi Vice President Adil Abdulmahdi became the new Oil Minister on Monday. Former Oil Minister and Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Hussain al-Shahristani now has the Higher Education portfolio. Nouri al-Maliki, prime minister for the past eight years, is… […]