Iran’s parliament on Sunday launched impeachment proceedings against the country’s finance minister, following high inflation and the sharp devaluation of the national currency, the rial.
On Sunday, the rial was trading at more than 920,000 to the US dollar on the black market, up from less than 600,000 in mid-2024. President Masoud Pezizian has proposed to lawmakers to defend Minister Abdolnasser Hemmati. He will also speak in support of his own record.
Parliament is expected to vote on the impeachment in the afternoon. Any dismissal would require the support of a majority of the 290-seat parliament. Many MPs raised their voices as they angrily condemned the Finance Minister, whom they believe is responsible for the dire economic situation.
“The people cannot tolerate the new wave of inflation; the increase in the price of foreign currency and other goods must be controlled,” said Ruhollah Motefakkar-Azad, a lawmaker. “The people cannot afford to buy medicines and medical equipment,” said Fatema Mohammadbeghi, another. Pezheskian took office in July with ambitions to revive the economy and end some Western sanctions.
But the rial’s devaluation has accelerated, especially since the fall of Iran’s ally, Bashar al-Assad of Syria, in December. The day before his government fell in Damascus, one dollar was traded for about 717,000 rials on Iran’s black market.
Uncontrolled inflation
Decades of US-led sanctions have also battered Iran’s economy, and inflation has worsened since Washington pulled out of the historic 2015 nuclear deal in 2018. The deal, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), provided for the return of Western investment in Iran in exchange for easing sanctions and increasing limits on the country’s nuclear activities.
US President Donald Trump, who returned to the White House in January, has revived his policy of “maximum pressure” on Iran by tightening sanctions. The Iranian economy has been under pressure since 2018, with rapid inflation, high unemployment, and currency devaluation weighing heavily on everyday Iranians.
According to World Bank data, inflation in Iran has been above 30 percent annually since 2019. According to the Washington-based organization’s last report, it had reached 44 percent in 2023.
According to the Iranian constitution, the dismissal of a minister will be effective immediately and an acting minister will be appointed until the government selects a replacement. In April 2023, lawmakers voted to dismiss then-Industry Minister Reza Fatemi Amin over price hikes linked to international sanctions.
