Parliament Removes Economy Minister From Office

Date: 26 August 2018 - 21:21

News ID: ۵۶۶۸۹

TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Iran's parliament sacked the minister of economic affairs and finance Sunday following a sharp devaluation of the rial and mounting criticism over the direction of economy.
The parliament backed the removal from office of Masoud Karbasian by 137 votes to 121 against. The outcome sees him stripped of his post with immediate effect, leaving Rouhani to pick a replacement.
The sacking was the latest in a continuing shakeup of top economic personnel. In early August Iranian lawmakers voted out the minister of labor and last month President Hassan Rouhani replaced the head of the central bank.
Critics say the government squandered the opportunities presented by the 2015 nuclear deal and have failed to tackle high rates of inflation and joblessness.
Major European firms, including France’s Total, Peugeot and Renault, and Germany’s Siemens and Daimler, have all announced their departure since the U.S. announcement in May to leave the nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions.
Rouhani’s critics say the primary blame lies with government corruption and mismanagement.
"Inefficiency and lack of planning have nothing to do with sanctions,” said one lawmaker, Abbas Payizadeh, in a speech ahead of the vote.
"Wrong decisions have harmed the people and led to individuals looting public assets,” he added.
Rouhani can still count on the support of a sizable reformist bloc in parliament, but even some of its key figures have grown disillusioned.
"What have we done with this nation? We made them miserable and wretched,” said Elias Hazrati, of the reformist Hope faction in parliament.
"The middle class are moving towards poverty,” added Hazrati, who broke ranks to vote in favor of the impeachment.

Hazrati said the government had failed to plan for the sanctions. "We haven’t been prepared and we are not prepared now,” he said.
"The only person we could get our hands on was the economy minister. Otherwise, the president should have been impeached,” he added.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei warned this month that removing the president would "play into the hands of the enemy.”
Parliament has summoned the president for the first time to answer questions on the situation, and he is expected to appear on Tuesday.
One of the key markers of Iran’s economic problem has been the collapse in the currency, which has lost around half its value since April.
That was partly owing to U.S. hostility, but also due to a disastrous decision to fix the value of the rial and shut down currency traders. The move triggered a boom in the black market and widespread corruption, before the decision was finally reversed this month.
Figures released by the central bank on Saturday showed huge jumps in the cost of essential goods compared with a year ago. Dairy products are up by a third, chicken by more than 20 percent and fresh fruit by 71 percent.