Finally, after a week of speculation, three members of Iranian�President Hassan Rouhani's Cabinet were replaced Oct.�19. Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance�Ali Jannati, Education�Minister�Ali�Asghar Fani�and Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports�Mahmoud Goudarzi�all resigned on the same day.�

Though all three were said to have stepped down voluntarily, various reports indicate that Rouhani wasn�t content with them, an idea that was affirmed by a government official. Mohammad-Bagher Nobakhat, the spokesman for Rouhani�s administration,�appeared on state TV on Oct. 19 to explain the reason behind the Cabinet reshuffle.�Nobakht said,��The change is aimed at improvement. � The president�s goal is to fulfill expectations as�best as possible.�

Elaborating on Jannati's�resignation, the spokesman added,��When Mr. Rouhani concluded that by changing the minister, the entire cultural�field's�performance would be better, he made the call.� Nobakht then explained the change of education minister, saying,��Despite Mr. Fani�s abilities, it was decided that a more systematized person should take over."

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This article was written by�Rohollah Faghihi for Al-Monitor on Oct. 20, 2016. Rohollah Faghihi is a journalist who has worked for various Iranian media outlets.