Iran’s parliament voted to dismiss the minister of Industry, Mines and Trade Sunday.
Amid allegations of mismanagement and widespread dissatisfaction with rising prices, especially in the car market, Reza Fatemi Amin was forced from his position, with 162 of the 272 lawmakers present voting to oust him. There are 290 seats in parliament.
Last year, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in major policies, criticized the high prices and low quality of home-made products, including cars.
Fatemi Amin survived an earlier impeachment by the same chamber six months ago.
During Sunday’s vote, opponents criticized Fatemi Amin for "skyrocketing prices of automobiles and the rising costs of industrial production” and considered him unqualified to continue in his position.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi defended Fatemi Amin and urged lawmakers to reinstate the minister, saying, "The point is that stability in the ministry is important."
Fatemi Amin defended his job, saying, "The automobile industry is based on assembly and domestication, so it has problems with the ups and downs of sanctions."
Iran's economy has been battered by Western sanctions, rampant inflation and record depreciation of the rial against the dollar since 2018 when then-President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from a landmark nuclear deal with Tehran and reimposed severe sanctions.
In 2015, the rial was trading at 32,000 to the U.S. dollar when the country signed the nuclear accord, which lifted international sanctions in return for strict limits on, and surveillance of, its nuclear activities. Because of the breadth of global sanctions, the rial is trading at 545,000 to the U.S. dollar.
Some material for this report came from Agence France-Presse and The Associated Press.
