Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has stepped down from his role as the caretaker oil minister after parliament threatened to take him to court over the issue.

State-run media say Mr. Ahmadinejad announced Thursday that he had named Mohammad Ali-Abedi as the interim chief of the ministry. He is the former head of Iran's physical education organization.

Last month the president cut a number of government ministries. He fired oil minister Masoud Mirkazemi and merged his responsibilities into the energy ministry.

The move upset lawmakers who said they should have been consulted first. On Wednesday, they said the president's actions were illegal and voted to refer his “violations” to the judiciary.

In May, Iran's Guardian Council had challenged Mr. Ahmadinejad's takeover of the ministry. The constitutional watchdog group also ruled the action was illegal.

The apparent power struggle between the Iranian president and parliament comes on the heels of an incident that may have strained relations between Mr. Ahmadinejad and Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

In April, the president dismissed Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi, but the supreme leader vetoed the dismissal in an apparent slap to Mr. Ahmadinejad.