ZCZC
BCN-22
IRAN-POLITICS-ECONOMY-PARLIAMENT-FOREX
Iranian MPs demand overhaul of Rouhani’s economic team
TEHRAN, June 28, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Nearly two-thirds of Iran’s MPs have
written to President Hassan Rouhani demanding he change his economic team to
deal with the country’s worsening financial woes, state media said Wednesday.
“The poor performance of senior officials in charge of the economy over
the past few years has led to the population’s increased distrust,” wrote 187
of the Iranian parliament’s 290 lawmakers, in a letter published by IRNA news
agency.
The warning followed demonstrations and a rare strike at the Grand Bazaar
in Tehran, as Iranians protested their country’s dire economic situation.
In their letter, the members of parliament urged Rouhani to act “as a
matter of urgency”, calling on the president to make changes “in the
management of the economic team”.
The overhaul must bring “dynamism” and an “understanding” of the economic
situation, they wrote, before parliament “takes a decision on the matter”.
The government’s economic team is made up of vice-presidents and
ministers, as well as Rouhani’s economic advisers and the central bank
president.
Lawmakers have the power to dismiss ministers or to declare, through a
two-thirds majority vote, the “incapacity” of the president, paving the way
for his possible dismissal by Iran’s supreme leader.
Rouhani has been under increasing pressure over the country’s finances,
with the value of Iran’s currency plunging almost 50 percent in the past six
months.
The situation has worsened since President Donald Trump pulled the United
States out of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers last month,
announcing further sanctions against Tehran.
Iranians have also been hit by rising prices, while record levels of
unemployment have left a third of under 30-year-olds out of work.
Rouhani was re-elected in May 2017 on the promise of boosting Iran’s
economy and implementing social reforms.
He has been fiercely attacked in recent weeks by ultra-conservatives, who
have denounced his policy of openness with the West and have accused him of
damaging the economy.
On Tuesday, Rouhani called for unity a day after Grand Bazaar vendors went
on strike over the collapse of the rial on foreign exchange markets.
Brief scuffles had also broken out on Monday between protesters and police
in central Tehran.
Grand Bazaar traders returned to work on Wednesday under a heavy riot
police presence, the Fars news agency and witnesses interviewed by AFP said.
BSS/AFP/HR/1050