Iranian Parliament Questions Ahmadinejad

By Alan Cowell, The New York Times

14 March2012

Onderkant formulier

LONDON — President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran appeared before the country’s Parliament on Wednesday to be quizzed by lawmakers on issues including economic mismanagement and his tense relationship with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, state media reported, the first interrogation of its kind since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

The hearing offered a highly unusual public airing of Iran’s inner tensions at a time when it faces growing outside pressure from the United States and other Western countries over its disputed nuclear program. His appearance seemed to directly challenge his prestige as president. But, as the hearing drew to a close, Mr. Ahmadinejad’s attitude to his questioners remained dismissive even as one lawmaker called for his impeachment, news reports said.

An official catalog of 10 questions to be answered by the president, published before Wednesday’s hearing, listed issues ranging from personnel decisions reflecting power struggles within the elite, to price increases on fuel and other basic goods. Mr. Ahmadinejad was also taken to task over his policies to reduce state subsidies, the country’s failure to meet to an 8 percent economic growth target and questions relating to public transportation in Tehran and elsewhere.

Two specific questions related to Mr. Ahmadinejad’s efforts to dismiss his former intelligence and foreign ministers, moves that directly challenged Ayatollah Khamenei’s authority.

Last year, the president tried to dismiss the head of the intelligence ministry, the powerful government branch that exerts widespread control over domestic life. Ayatollah Khamenei ordered that the minister, Heydar Moslehi, keep the post, but Mr. Ahmadinejad stayed home for 11 days before heeding the demand in what was taken as a show of pique and defiance.

In late 2010, Mr. Ahmadinejad unceremoniously dumped Manouchehr Mottaki, the foreign minister and a Khamenei ally, while Mr. Mottaki was on a mission to Senegal.

The disputes unraveled a staunch alliance with Ayatollah Khamenei since Mr. Ahmadinejad was first elected president in 2005. On Wednesday, Mr. Ahmadinejad denied challenging Ayatollah Khamenei.

His appearance, following a petition by a group of legislators in February, came after parliamentary elections March 2 that seemed to strengthen Ayatollah Khamenei in the power struggle.

The official news agency IRNA said the interrogation of the president was led by Ali Motahari, a prominent opponent of the president, in an open session of Parliament broadcast live on state radio.

He was also questioned about his failure to rein in soaring prices of basic goods, increases that have mainly hit the middle class and blue-collar workers. He denied that price increases were related to the decision to accelerate reductions in state subsidies, The Associated Press reported.

Another question related to Mr. Ahmadinejad’s support for his chief of staff, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, accused by lawmakers of heading a “deviant current” in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Revolution.

Mr. Ahmadinejad did not respond directly to the question, saying only that he supports Iran’s “history,” The A.P. said.

Mr. Ahmadinejad sought to crack jokes with the lawmakers.

“Here is not a place to share jokes. This is the Parliament. The president has no right to insult the legislature,” one lawmaker, Mohammad Reza Khabbaz, told the chamber angrily, The A.P. said.

But Mr. Ahmadinejad reportedly remained dismissive of his interrogators.

One legislator, Mostafa Reza Hosseini, was quoted as saying: “The president’s language was insulting during his entire speech. He escaped answering the questions. As predicted, we didn’t receive any logical answer from the president.”

Another lawmaker, Ghodrotollah Ali Khani, reportedly declared: “Hopefully, the next step is Ahmadinejad’s impeachment.”

Mr. Ahmadinejad has been under attack by some of the same hardliners who once provided his power base. He appeared alongside eight members of his cabinet at the Parliament in an apparent show of support.

After the parliamentary elections, analysts said the legislature, known as the Majlis, had a stronger mandate to oversee the president much more closely, weakening his position.

Mr. Ahmadinejad appeared on Wednesday after weeks of maneuvering since 79 lawmakers signed a petition in early February, demanding that he be questioned on issues that include some of his appointments and dismissals of key officials. Parliamentary rules require the support of a quarter of the 290 members,

Although 11 lawmakers subsequently withdrew their signatures, Parliament’s presiding board ruled that the questioning should proceed since the 11 legislators had not withdrawn their support in time to meet a deadline.

The unusual testimony by the Iranian president coincided with growing outside pressure on Iran over its disputed nuclear program.

Iran faces a tightening stranglehold of Western sanctions on its faltering economy, while Israel has shown growing impatience with the failure of diplomacy and economic pressure so far to halt Iran’s uranium enrichment program. Tehran says the nuclear effort is for peaceful purposes, but Western leaders say they believe Iran is seeking the capability to build nuclear weapons.

J. David Goodman contributed reporting from New York and Artin Afkhami from Boston.