Iranian parliament removes finance Minister from office
IRAN - Iran’s parliament sacked the Minister of Economic affairs and Finance on yesterday, state media said, amid a sharp fall in the rial currency and a deterioration in the economic situation.
The Iranian economy is dogged by high unemployment and the rial has lost half its value since April. The United States reimposed some sanctions in early August and a second set targeting Iran’s oil industry is due to take effect in November.
The head of the elite Revolutionary Guards said Iran faced ‘unique’ challenges and the foreign minister accused the United States of waging ‘psychological war’ on his country.
The Iranian parliament backed the removal from office of Masoud Karbasian, Minister of Finance and Economic affairs, by 137 votes to 121 against, state media said.
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.
The US sanctions, reimposed after President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of a 2015 international deal aimed at curbing Tehran’s nuclear program, have exacerbated an already difficult economic situation in Iran. “(America’s) focus is on a psychological war against Iran and its business partners”, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said yesterday, according to the Tasnim news agency. “From the time that Trump announced the withdrawal from the nuclear deal, America has not been able to reach its goals”, Zarif added, according to the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA). (Reuters)