सिंहदरबार संवाददाता
TEHRAN. Iran’s parliament on Sunday launched impeachment proceedings against the country’s finance minister, following high inflation and a sharp devaluation of the national currency, the rial.
The rial was trading at more than 920,000 to the US dollar on the black market on Sunday, down from less than 600,000 in mid-2024.
President Masoud Pejeskian has offered lawmakers the chance to defend Minister Abdolnasser Hemmati. He will also speak in support of his own record.
Parliament is expected to vote on the impeachment in the afternoon. Any dismissal would require the support of a majority in the 290-seat parliament.
Many lawmakers raised their voices in angry condemnation of the finance minister, whom they believe is responsible for the dire economic situation.
“The public cannot tolerate a new wave of inflation, the rise in the price of foreign currency and other goods must be controlled,” said lawmaker Ruhollah Motefakkar-Azad. “People can’t afford medicine and medical equipment,” said Fatema Mohammadbeghi, another.
Pjeskian took office in July with ambitions to revive the economy and lift some Western sanctions.
But the rial’s devaluation has accelerated, especially since the fall of Iran’s ally, Bashar al-Assad of Syria, in December.
The day before his government fell in Damascus, the rial was trading at about 717,000 rials to the dollar on the Iranian black market. .
Rampant inflation
Decades of US-led sanctions have also battered Iran’s economy, and inflation has worsened since Washington pulled out of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal in 2018.
The deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), provided for the return of Western investment in Iran in exchange for easing sanctions and increasing limits on the country’s nuclear activities.
US President Donald Trump, who returned to the White House in January, has tightened sanctions The US has revived its policy of “maximum pressure” on Iran, putting pressure on the country.
The Iranian economy has been under pressure since 2018, with rapid inflation, high unemployment, and currency devaluation weighing heavily on everyday Iranians.
According to World Bank data, inflation in Iran has been above 30 percent annually since 2019. According to the Washington-based organization’s last report, it had reached 44 percent in 2023.
According to the Iranian constitution, the dismissal of a minister is effective immediately and an acting one will be appointed until the government selects a replacement.
In April 2023, lawmakers voted to dismiss then-Industry Minister Reza Fatemi Amin over price hikes linked to international sanctions.
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