On 2nd March 2025, the Iranian parliament voted to impeach Economy Minister Abdolnaser Hemmati, highlighting the regime’s internal power struggles. After a heated debate, lawmakers passed the motion with 183 votes in favour, 89 against, and one abstention. Hemmati’s removal comes less than seven months after he took office, making him the first minister to be ousted from President Masoud Pezeshkian’s fragile government. This impeachment is not just a policy dispute. It reveals growing divisions within the regime, as rival factions try to shift blame away from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei while advancing their own interests.
Deflecting responsibility from Khamenei
The parliament, dominated by hardline factions loyal to Khamenei, accused Hemmati of failing to control inflation and stabilise the currency. However, Pezeshkian defended his minister, acknowledging that the government could do little to address Iran’s financial instability. “From the start, we’ve faced fundamental economic imbalances,” he said. He added that Iran is “engaged in a full-scale war,” as countries like Qatar, Iraq, and Turkey refuse to return Iranian assets.
Pezeshkian’s remarks exposed an inconvenient truth: the government has little control over key economic decisions. Khamenei’s office ultimately dictates major policies on issues like monetary policy, foreign trade, and sanctions evasion. Those pushing for Hemmati’s impeachment understand this reality, but they are using it as a political move to boost their own positions and mislead the public about the regime’s accountability.
Hemmati: A convenient scapegoat
In his defence, Hemmati pointed to structural problems rather than personal failures. He reassured lawmakers that the exchange rate, now at around 91,000 tomans to the dollar, would stabilise. He also argued that geopolitical factors contributed to the crisis. “The situation in Syria and Lebanon, the loss of key resistance leaders, and Trump’s economic warfare” were among the reasons he cited for the country’s troubles.
However, Hemmati’s impeachment was never truly about his economic management. The removal is part of a political calculation by extremist factions seeking to remove figures linked to previous administrations while deflecting blame from Khamenei. By targeting a single minister, they aim to create the illusion that the country’s economic problems stem from individual mismanagement, rather than systemic issues.
Power struggles and corruption within parliament
The impeachment process has also exposed the internal corruption within the regime. Reports suggest that some lawmakers were bribed to support or withdraw their signatures from the impeachment petition. Pezeshkian, sensing the political motives, criticised the spectacle. “If changing individuals could solve our problems, then why hasn’t it worked before?” he asked. His comments pointed to the futility of the regime’s ongoing reshuffling of officials without addressing the root causes of economic collapse.
MP Mohammad Qasim Osmani, a critic of the impeachment, warned that removing Hemmati would only worsen instability. “This is the only government that has inherited such extraordinary circumstances. Instead of pulling it down, we should be supporting it,” he argued.
The Regime’s struggle amid growing public discontent
Beyond the infighting, the regime faces a more pressing issue: growing public dissatisfaction. The impeachment drama distracts from rising inflation, widespread poverty, and an economic system crippled by corruption. Hemmati himself admitted that “over the past seven years, 10 million people have fallen below the poverty line,” acknowledging the regime’s failure.
Despite the political manoeuvring, all factions—including those orchestrating Hemmati’s removal—know that public frustration is at boiling point. The regime’s harsh crackdowns, mass arrests, and executions reflect its fear of social unrest. The impeachment is, at its core, an attempt to calm an angry population while rival factions fight for power behind the scenes.
However, as history has shown, scapegoating officials will not stop the regime’s decline. The Iranian people know that it is not a single minister but Khamenei and his inner circle who are responsible for their suffering. The real crisis is not just economic collapse, but the growing belief that the entire system is beyond repair.
