Iran’s economy minister impeached amid rising inflation, falling currency

After the parliament decided to remove Iran’s economy minister as president amid rising inflation and a declining currency, he was impeached.

Abdolnaser Hemmati was removed from office after 182 of the 273 lawmakers cast ballots against him on Sunday, according to Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the head of the parliament.

The Iranian rial was worth 32, 000 US dollars in 2015, but by the time Pezeshkian took office in July, it had fallen to 584, 000 US dollars.

Tehran’s exchange shops recently traded 930, 000 rials for a dollar, further lowering the value. Due to rising living costs and increased inflation, the rial’s devaluation has sparked widespread public dissatisfaction.

Hemmati, a former central bank governor, was defended by President Pezeshkian, who was present at the session on Sunday, telling lawmakers that “we are in a full-scale]economic] war with the enemy… we must take a war formation.”

We can’t blame one person for all of society’s economic problems, he continued, noting that “we cannot blame one person for everything.”

Hemmati’s supporter Mohammad Qasim Osmani, a lawmaker who supported the impeachment proceedings, argued that the current government or parliament was to blame for rising inflation and exchange rates.

He cited the previous administration’s budget deficit, which he claimed contributed to the economic unrest.

Hemmati acknowledged the difficult economic environment during his first five months in office, which included a 10% drop in inflation.

He did acknowledge, however, that the rate of inflation, which is still high, was 35%. He assured lawmakers that his team was working diligently to resolve the problem, but he cautioned that it would take some time.

Conservative MPs’ votes against centrist Pezeshkian, who is seeking to challenge and influence his government’s policies, are the first time since Hemmati’s victory.

Since Washington pulled out of a landmark nuclear deal in 2015, double-digit inflation has caused an increase in consumer prices for Iran’s economy due to decades of US-led sanctions.