ISTANBUL: Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad has resigned, Iran's state-run Tasnim news agency reported Sunday, citing a presidential official, according to Anadolu Ajansi.

Mehdi Tabatabaei, deputy head of communications at the Iranian president's office, said President Masoud Pezeshkian has accepted Paknejad's resignation.

Hamid Bovard has been appointed acting oil minister to oversee the ministry's affairs, Tabatabaei added.

No reason was given for Paknejad's resignation, which came amid unprecedented US sanctions on Iran, particularly targeting its oil sector.

Bovard previously served as the head of the state-run National Iranian Oil Company and has spent most of his career working in oilfield operations.