Iran’s parliament removes economy minister over economic mismanagement

TEHRN: Iran’s parliament voted Sunday to remove the country’s Economy Minister Abdolnaser Hemmati from office, citing mismanagement of the economy and the plummeting value of the national currency.

The parliament ousted Hemmati in a vote of no confidence, nearly eight months after President Masoud Pezishkian appointed his cabinet.

In eight months, Iran’s currency has lost nearly half its value against the U.S. dollar, according to unofficial websites, such as alanchand.com.

The Iranian rial is now trading at 927,000 to the U.S. dollar, up from 595,500 in August last year.

State media reported that lawmakers opposing Hemmati argued that he had failed to curb rising prices for basic goods such as medicine, food and housing while failing to control the foreign exchange market.

State media said Hemmati had prioritized lifting US sanctions on Iran and removing the country from the Financial Action Task Force blacklist.

He was opposed by lawmakers who believed Tehran should focus on “neutralizing” sanctions.

According to state media, Hemmati’s supporters said it was not the right time to remove the economy minister because Iran is under US sanctions and replacing him would create further instability.

The economy is the biggest challenge for Iran’s ruling clerics, who fear a revival of protests by low- and middle-income groups angry about rising poverty since 2017.

US President Donald Trump has revived his “maximum pressure” campaign, which aims to reduce Iran’s oil exports to zero.

In the vote, 182 members of parliament supported a no-confidence motion against Hemmati, while 89 voted against the move, according to state media.