Iranian industry minister impeached over rising inflation, mismanagement

Amid soaring inflation in the country, the Iranian parliament on Sunday voted in an impeachment session to remove industry minister Reza Fatemi Amin.Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf announced the results during a session broadcast live on state television.

Amin failed to garner enough votes to save his spot as 162 MPs voted in favour of his removal while 102 against. This was the second instance an impeachment motion had been brought against him. In November last year, Amin managed to stave off the challenge after securing 182 votes.

Parliamentarians, who voted to remove industry, mines and trade minister Reza Fatemi-Amin, accused him of failing to control "skyrocketing prices of automobiles and the rising costs of industrial production" and lambasted him for mismanagement.

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Ahead of the vote, President Ebrahim Raisi batted for him and urged "stability in the management of this ministry". Even Amin argued, "The automobile industry is based on assembly and domestication, so it has problems with the ups and downs of sanctions."

According to reports, the major reason that contributed to Amin's downfall was supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in major policies criticising the high prices and low quality of home-made products including cars.

Rial plunges to historic low

Earlier this year in February, the Iranian currency, the rial plunged to its lowest with the US dollar fetching as much as 601,500 rials on Iran's unofficial market. At the time, the Iranian authorities blamed the currency's fall on "the enemies' plot" to destabilise the Islamic Republic.

Reports also attributed this drop to the country’s increasing international isolation over its human rights violations and reportedly supplying drones to Russia.

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Iran’s economic conditions have also contributed to widespread anger among its citizens. Couple that with the protests that started in the aftermath of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini's death, the public has been overly critical of the government.

Amid the rise in prices and economic hardship, Iranians have turned to the US dollar or gold to protect their savings.

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According to reports, protests have continued in parts of Iran despite the government’s harsh crackdown. Meanwhile, Tehran has also recently faced pressure from the West after accusations of supplying drones to Russia for using it amid its conflict with Ukraine, a claim that Iran has denied.

ALSO READ | Iranian rial plunges to record low amid anti-government protests, international isolation

(With inputs from agencies)

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