By Farnaz Fassihi
The Wall Street Journal, 2 Nov 2011 – Iran’s Parliament moved against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s economy minister over a banking-fraud case, only to back off, in a roller-coaster session that showcased the battle between the president and the country’s political establishment.
The $2.6 billion fraud case, the largest in Iran’s history, has become a powerful vehicle for rivals of Mr. Ahmadinejad to attack his administration.
Economy Minister Shamseddin Hosseini’s survival of an impeachment vote by lawmakers on Tuesday was an uneasy victory for a president who rose to power partly because of his standing against corruption and for clean governance.
In an all-day open Parliament session on Tuesday, at least five influential lawmakers who favored Mr. Hosseini’s impeachment used the opportunity to slam Mr. Ahmadinejad’s administration. Only one lawmaker spoke in his defense.
‘The public didn’t expect to see this level of corruption and abuse in a government that claims to stand for justice,’ said lawmaker Ahmad Tavakoli, who belongs to the same political party as Mr. Ahmadinejad but recently turned against him. ‘The president should have stepped in to punish these officials, not insist on defending them,’ he said.
Mr. Ahmadinejad has become increasingly isolated after months of such attacks. He addressed Parliament on Tuesday to convince lawmakers to let his ally keep his post, warning that dismissal would please Iran’s enemies. ‘Iran is facing unprecedented pressures from international sanctions and the economy minister has a pivotal role in managing this situation,’ he said.
Mr. Ahmadinejad had earlier used political threats, warning in interviews published in the Iranian press that he would reveal secrets if an undefined ‘red line’ was crossed.
Dozens of arrests have been made in the banking-fraud case, which involves the Amir Mansour Arya Investment Development Co., a financial conglomerate. Parliamentary officials and the judiciary allege that executives of the company forged letters of credit to secure multibillion dollar loans from seven government-owned and private banks. Iran’s judiciary says high-level figures helped the bank secure the loans.
Many lawmakers expressed confidence early Tuesday that they would oust the economy minister, who was accused of allowing the alleged fraud to proceed under his watch.
Mr. Hosseini says he didn’t know of any wrongdoing by the company, and on Tuesday apologized and urged lawmakers to allow him to keep his position while the judiciary investigates the case. ‘I am not guilty, I had no knowledge of this crime. Please don’t rush to judgment,’ he said, according to official Iranian news media.
Shortly before the vote, Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani, a critic of Mr. Ahmadinejad, asked lawmakers to give the economy minister a second chance pending the judicial investigation. He said he was taking the unusual measure of taking sides in the vote because of the sensitivity of the case.
In a political establishment that answers for the most part to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Mr. Larijani’s words were seen as indirect orders from above, and a majority of Parliament obliged, in a 141-93 vote against Mr. Hosseini’s dismissal.
‘Unfortunately, the Parliament can’t act independently and listens to the higher-ups,’ said Mehdi Khazaali, an analyst critical of the president and the son of an influential cleric who is close to Mr. Khamenei.
It was unclear why Mr. Khamenei, who seemed to have approved the dismissal by letting it get to a vote, would have discouraged its passage.
The supreme leader, who sits at the pinnacle of Iran’s clerical government, was once a strong supporter of Mr. Ahmadinejad and backed him during the security crackdown on antigovernment demonstrations sparked by his re-election in 2009.
But Mr. Khamenei this year appears to be orchestrating a campaign to rein in his power, while also stalling efforts to impeach him. Tuesday’s vote came two weeks after Mr. Khamenei; who is a former president;mused openly about changing Iran’s system of government to eliminate the presidency in favor of a prime minister elected by Parliament.
Iran’s Parliament has long been at odds with Mr. Ahmadinejad, and the vote represented another opportunity for his rivals to state their case against the president.
Although the vote didn’t deliver a victory for the president’s rivals, it intensified divisions among conservative factions;supporters and critics of Mr. Ahmadinejad. Parliament’s presiding council said on Sunday it had received a petition to summon Mr. Ahmadinejad to answer questions about the banking scandal and about what his foes say is a practice of evading required parliamentary oversight.
No Iranian president has appeared before Parliament to answer questions; doing so is a necessary first step in an impeachment process in Iran. Iran’s first president, Abolhassan Banisadr, was impeached in 1981, but in absentia.
With the failure of the effort to oust Mr. Hosseini, it is unclear whether Mr. Ahmadinejad will be forced to appear for questioning. Mr. Khamenei has blocked previous attempts to initiate an impeachment.
The fraud case has threatened the standing of other allies of Mr. Ahmadinejad, including Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the head of Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy committees.
Mr. Boroujerdi was arrested in the case and later released without charges. Iranian newspapers and two fellow lawmakers said he used official letterhead to ask state banks to approve loans for Amir Mansour Arya. Mr. Boroujerdi denied any involvement.
Write to Farnaz Fassihi at farnaz.fassihi@wsj.com
Link:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203707504577011902264588734.html?mod=WSJ_World_LEFTSecondNews