Fourty Iranian MPs have signed a proposal for the impeachment of the country’s oil minister Bijan Namdar Zangeneh.
Seyed Shokrekhoda Mousavi, a Member of Parliament and a member of Energy Committee of Iran’s Majlis (parliament) told the official Mehr News Agency that the MPs had been eager to introduce the proposal earlier, but waited to see the results of the impeachment proceedings held on October 6.
Mousavi said that the status of Iran’s oil refineries and “lack of observing resistant economic macro-policies” were among the main reasons why Zangeneh’s ouster was being sought, although other reasons, if any, remain unknown.
Mehr also reports that during the motion the Majlis voted to keep Abbas Akhoundi the country’s Roads and Urban Development Minister in office.
Iran has been under strict international sanctions since mid-2012 for its controversial nuclear programme, and the country’s oil and gas industry – a major revenue earner, has been struggling ever since.
Zangeneh, who joined Iran’s political circle after the Islamic Revolution in 1979, was appointed as the oil minister by President Hassan Rouhani in August 2013.
Since the easing of the international sanctions began in June 2015, Iran has been vehemently welcoming back foreign investors and is forging trade alliances, including in the energy sector, with several nations.
In such a scenario, it remains to be seen who replaces Zangeneh, should he be impeached.
