Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is locked in confrontation with MPs after being warned he acted illegally by declaring himself caretaker Iranian oil minister in what his critics called an unconstitutional power grab.
Iranian media reported that the Majlis (parliament), which has repeatedly clashed with the president over key policy issues in recent weeks, voted 165-1 to approve a report by its energy committee, which declared Ahmadinejad’s move an “obvious violation of law.”
The vote was triggered by the president’s sacking of Iranian minister of petroleum Masoud Mir Kazemi, which was part of a plan to merge eight ministries into four to cut their overall number to 17. Observers said it was unclear whether there was now a real threat that Ahmadinejad could be impeached. However, it was the latest spat in an increasingly ugly struggle between the president and his one-time mentor, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Aides to Khamenei have castigated Ahmadinejad’s controversial chief-of-staff Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaie as representing a “deviant current” moving Iran away from Islamic principles.
Accusations of “perversion,” witchcraft and exorcism have been bandied around — as well as more conventional complaints of corruption.
The Majlis vote was spearheaded by the speaker, Ali Larijani, who was sacked by Ahmadinejad as Iran’s national security chief in 2007, but is seen as a prospective candidate for the presidency in 2013.
Ahmadinejad’s original bid to streamline his Cabinet was blocked by Khamenei. Ahmadinejad fought back by dismissing three ministers and temporarily taking over the oil ministry, but drew furious criticism from Khamenei’s camp.
The move by MPs reflects mounting alarm by Ahmadinejad’s rivals in the country’s -conservative ruling elite, including hard-line clerics and the elite Revolutionary Guards, especially since it involves the hugely important energy sector — the source of 80 percent of Iranian state revenue — and because Ahmadinejad is famous for his populist economic policies.
Late last month, the parliament voted to investigate allegations that the president had misused state funds as effective bribes by giving US$80 each to 9 million voters before the 2009 presidential election.
To complicate matters further, Iran is also the current chairman of OPEC, although Ahmadinejad has said he will not attend its summit in Vienna next week.
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