A group of conservative Iranian lawmakers is facing a backlash for an attempt to impeach Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. 

According to a November 27 letter that the parliamentarians shared with Iranian media, the 24 deputies are seeking Zarif’s impeachment for 11 reasons, including his claim that money laundering is taking place in the Islamic Republic. Among the others are his “not paying attention to the economy in the diplomacy of the country,” lack of outreach with Asia, Latin America and Africa, “not using the opportunities that the resistance has provided in the region” and taking a weak position on the 2015 Mina hajj stampede, in which 464 Iranians were killed.

Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi, a top Shiite cleric who often speaks out on political and social matters, asserted in a seminary lecture Nov. 28, “In a situation in which we must be strong and united against foreign enemies, brothers and sisters in parliament are seeking to impeach ministers, and this is not advisable.” He added, “We must put this impeachment behind us, and if the members of parliament see problems, they must put the questions and criticisms directly to the ministers.” 

The impeachment effort, although led by conservatives, is being driven more by hard-liners, who have longed opposed President Hassan Rouhani's administration. Khabar Online reported, “The Concerned, in a pre-planned action, have started a damaging project against their opponents,” the “Concerned” being the moniker the hard-liners adopted for themselves in expressing their opposition to the nuclear deal and the Rouhani administration’s outreach to the United States, a policy that Zarif had led.