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Iran's hard-line MPs launch fresh drive to impeach Rouhani

A group of ultraconservative Iranian lawmakers is robustly lobbying to gather support from colleagues to unseat President Hassan Rouhani over his perceived mismanagement of the country's ailing economy.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attends talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during their meeting in the Black sea resort of Sochi, Russia, 14 February 2019. Sergei Chirikov/Pool via REUTERS - RC1A2A816970

Under Article 89 of the Iranian Constitution, an impeachment motion against a sitting president requires signatures from one-third of lawmakers to officially go before parliament. With 290 parliament members currently serving in a parliament dominated by pro-government moderates and Reformists, that goal might seem to be far-fetched and unrealistic. But the bumpy road is not holding back a small group of ultraconservative lawmakers who have been using everything in their disposal to discredit President Hassan Rouhani and his government.

The architect of the motion, which has only drawn 18 signatures, is Mojtaba Zolnour, a conservative cleric representing the holy city of Qom. "Some 80 other parliament members offered their verbal consent, but they were not willing to leave their signatures," he said. Those lawmakers, according to Zolnour, have promised to vote against Rouhani if an impeachment session is eventually held.

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