Impeached Economy Minister to Head Iran Oil Firm

Iran's former economy minister, impeached less than three months ago, will head the national oil company as it works to evade renewed US sanctions, local media reported Monday.

Masoud Karbasian, 67, was impeached by parliament on August 26 after only a year in the job, over his handling of the country's economic downturn.

In a short statement run by the state-run Iran newspaper Monday, he vowed to "use four decades of experience... to overcome the sanctions crisis."

Karbasian takes over the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) at a crucial moment following the US oil embargo that was reimposed on November 5.

Although he kept a very low profile during his tenure as economy minister, he was praised in the reformist Sazandegi newspaper on Monday for his "anti-corruption" stance—particularly during an earlier stint as head of customs. 

But there was some confusion over his appointment, since he is in breach of a new law barring anyone over 60—the age of retirement—from public office. 

Parliament passed the law in September, and it was used to remove outgoing NIOC head Ali Kardor, who is three years younger than Karbasian, according to several newspapers.

The Iran daily said Karbasian's age was overlooked due to "sanctions and the gravity of sustaining oil sales.”

The US reimposed sanctions on Iran after deciding in May to abandon a landmark multi-lateral deal signed in 2015 over the Islamic Republic's nuclear program. 

Temporary exemptions have been granted to several key customers of Iran's oil, including China and India. 

But Iranian authorities are seeking alternative and clandestine methods to keep oil flowing as Washington remains determined to eventually force its exports down to zero.

The unaffiliated Haft-e Sobh newspaper described the new NIOC chief as "special agent: Masoud Karbasian". 

It said his appointment was approved by the Council for Special Economic Measures, set up during the previous sanctions period between 2010 and 2015, headed by President Hassan Rouhani, and whose decisions are taken in consultation with supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Photo Credit: IRNA

Rouhani's Woes Mount as Iran Economy Minister Impeached

Iran's parliament impeached Economy Minister Masoud Karbasian on Sunday in the latest blow to embattled President Hassan Rouhani as he struggles to face down a mounting economic crisis.

Karbasian is the second cabinet minister to be sacked this month, following the impeachment of Labour Minister Ali Rabiei on August 8.

Critics say the government squandered the opportunities presented by the 2015 nuclear deal and have failed to tackle high rates of inflation and joblessness.

With the United States abandoning the nuclear deal in May and reimposing sanctions, Rouhani's hopes of attracting vast sums of foreign investment appear dead in the water. 

Major European firms, including France's Total, Peugeot and Renault, and Germany's Siemens and Daimler, have all announced their departure since the US announcement.

Rouhani's conservative opponents—who long-opposed his outreach to the West and efforts to improve civil liberties—say the primary blame lies with government corruption and mismanagement. 

"Inefficiency and lack of planning have nothing to do with sanctions," said one lawmaker, Abbas Payizadeh, in a speech ahead of the vote.

"Wrong decisions have harmed the people and led to individuals looting public assets," he added.

Rouhani, a political moderate, can still count on the support of a sizable reformist bloc in parliament, but even some of its key figures have grown disillusioned. 

"What have we done with this nation? We made them miserable and wretched," said Elias Hazrati, of the reformist Hope faction in parliament.

"The middle class are moving towards poverty," added Hazrati, who broke ranks to vote in favor of the impeachment. 

Karbasian lost the vote of confidence, which was carried live on state radio, by 137 votes to 121, with two abstentions.

The outcome sees him stripped of his post with immediate effect, leaving Rouhani to pick a replacement.

'We are not prepared'

Hazrati said the government had failed to plan for the real pain of sanctions, which will hit when a second phase of US measures is reintroduced in November targeting Iran's crucial oil sector.  

"We haven't been prepared and we are not prepared now," said Hazrati.

"The only person we could get our hands on was the economy minister. Otherwise, the president should have been impeached," he added.

For now, Rouhani remains protected by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who said this month that removing the president would "play into the hands of the enemy".

But parliament has summoned the president for the first time to answer questions on the crisis, and he is expected to appear on Tuesday. 

One of the key markers of Iran's economic crisis has been the collapse in the currency, which has lost around half its value since April. 

That was partly owing to US hostility, but also due to a disastrous decision to fix the value of the rial and shut down currency traders. The move triggered a boom in the black market and widespread corruption, before the decision was finally reversed this month. 

Business people in Iran point to other deep-rooted problems, from the debt-ridden banking sector to the outsized and opaque role of military-linked organizations in the economy. 

Rouhani has taken small steps to resolve these issues, but most Iranians are dissatisfied with his progress. 

There have been persistent, low-level strikes and demonstrations across the country for months over high prices and unpaid wages that have occasionally turned into violent protests against the system as a whole.

Figures released by the central bank on Saturday showed huge jumps in the cost of essential goods compared with a year ago. 

Dairy products are up by a third, chicken by more than 20 percent and fresh fruit by 71 percent. 

Photo Credit: IRNA