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CAIRO (Reuters) - Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei named hardline ally Ebrahim Raisi as head of the judiciary on Thursday, the state news agency IRNA reported.

Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has begun a diplomatic tour to seek assurances that signatories to a landmark nuclear deal will back it despite its abandonment by the US.

Mr Zarif said on his first stop, China, that he hoped to secure a "clear future design" for the agreement.

The US will re-impose sanctions on Iran and firms dealing with it could be hit, angering signatories like France.

President Hassan Rouhani said he hoped Iran could stay in the agreement.

Three government ministers have retained their posts after facing impeachment at the Iranian Parliament (Majlis).

On Wednesday, the Parliament (Majlis) impeached Minister of Agriculture Mahmoud Hojjati.

Those submitting the plan for his impeachment had argued that he had failed to properly advance devised development plans, and attached more importance to imported agricultural produce rather than domestic cultivation.

The Iranian labor minister has secured a vote of confidence during a hearing session at the Parliament (Majlis) on his alleged mismanagement, as the legislature begins an impeachment process involving three cabinet ministers.

The parliament held a hearing session on Tuesday to discuss the performance of Ali Rabiei, who faced charges of mismanaging unemployment and other government enterprises.

The session began with speeches by six of the protesting lawmakers, and continued with Rabiei’s address in his defense.

Mashhad’s firebrand Friday prayer leader hardline Ayatollah Ahmad Alamolhoda says there is no room in Iran for a referendum, Radio Farda reported on Saturday.

Chiming in with others close to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Alamolhoda reacted to President Hassan Rouhani’s suggestion for holding referendum to settle disputes in the Iranian society.

Alamolhoda said that suggesting a referendum is tantamount to supporting a secular democracy.

Alamolhoda stressed that it is only the Supreme Leader who can call for a referendum.

Former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was reportedly arrested in Shiraz city for inciting unrest, Al Arabiya reported on Sunday.

Ahmadinejad, who served as the president of Iran from 2005 to 2013, will be placed under house arrest if Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei grants permission to the authorities to do so, according to Al Arabiya. The news of his arrest has been reported by several news outlets.

Roughly a week after protests began in several Iranian cities, the main challenge facing the establishment in Tehran is how to deal with them. On Dec. 28, few thought that the gathering of a few hundred people in Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest and holiest city, was going to result in a domino effect, with protests popping up in several cities around the country.