Iran’s former deputy foreign minister, Muhammad Sharif Malekzadeh, a close ally of the hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has been arrested on charges of financial corruption.
Malekzadeh resigned from his post two days ago – only a week after he was appointed – after coming under pressure from the conservative-dominated parliament for his connections to Ahmadinejad’s controversial former chief of staff and close confidant, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei.
In the face of the growing rift between Ahmadinejad and Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, allies of the president and Mashaei have come under scrutiny for allegedly attempting to undermine clerical power and compromise revolutionary values.
Supporters of Khamenei, who include a majority of the parliament, have launched a campaign against Mashaei and his team – who are described as a “deviant current” in the inner circle of the president. In recent weeks, at least 25 people close to Ahmadinejad and Mashaei have been arrested, including presidential aide Kazem Kiapasha, and the head of the cultural committee, Abbas Amirifar.
Esmail Kowsari, the deputy head of the parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy, told Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency: “[Malekzadeh] was arrested this morning on financial fraud charges and because there are numerous existing cases against him.”
Iran’s foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, faced impeachment proceedings on Tuesday over the appointment of Malekzadeh, but the motion was withdrawn after Malekzadeh’s resignation. In his resignation letter, which was addressed to Salehi, Malekzadeh wrote: “Despite dastardly manipulations and plentiful injustices done against me, I can’t accept that you suffer from unjust pressures because of me anymore.”
Malekzadeh was a deputy to Mashaei when the latter headed Iran’s cultural heritage and tourism organisation.
Conservatives who say Ahmadinejad is under the spell of Mashaei are worried about the increasing influence of the former chief of staff in Iran’s politics and have accused his team of anything from corruption to sorcery.
Iran’s parliament, at the same time, is believed to be only waiting for Khamenei’s green light to impeach Ahmadinejad for his support for Mashaei. Analysts believe Khamenei would prefer the president to quietly end his term of office rather than confronting him in public.
Many believe that the only reason Mashaei himself has not yet been arrested is because Khamenei fears Ahmadinejad might resign if his right-hand man were detained.
The president’s resignation would be a blow to Khamenei, who wholeheartedly supported Ahmadinejad in the 2009 disputed presidential election, which gave him a second term in office.
source: The Guardian
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's cabinet is once again being called into question, as 25 MPs call for the impeachment of Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar.
MP Mohammad Javad Abtai, who opposes the impeachment move, told reporters that the head of Parliament has called for a meeting with the disgruntled MPs in an attempt to dissuade them from continuing with their initiative.
He added: "In view of the general situation of the country at present, the impeachment of the Minister of the Interior is not in the interest of the regime, and this matter can be resolved through dialogue and coordination between Parliament and the government."
However, one of the signatories to the impeachment order, MP Jaffar Ghaderi, told reporters that it will be officially introduced in Parliament on Sunday.
Among the reasons given for the impeachment attempt: "Assigning the appointment of governors and provincial prefects to non-officials, the weak performance of governors and prefects, the lack of proper distribution of adequate credit for development in the provinces, the lack of coordination between provinces and security bodies, and the failure to appoint governors and prefects in a timely manner."
MP Ghaderi rose in Parliament to call for the impeachment of Mostafa Moahammad Najjar just after MPs announced that a previous attempt to impeach Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi had been withdrawn.
The Foreign Minister came under threat of impeachment for the appointment of a new deputy minister, whom Parliament deemed to be of questionable character. When Parliament moved to impeach the minister, the deputy was forced to resign, even though Mohammad Sharif Malekzadeh, an Ahmadinejad ally, reportedly had been appointed to the position by direct order of the president.
These moves are part of a series of steps being taken by Iran's conservative elite to limit Ahmadinejad's power in advance of the parliamentary election next March.
According to Iranian parliamentary regulations, at least 10 signatures are required to propose the impeachment of a cabinet minister. This is the third time MPs have moved to impeach the Interior Minister, often referred to as a "weak minister" who is incapable of carrying out his duties.
source: Radio Zamaneh
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