Iranian hard-liners reject Rouhani’s nominee for trade minister

TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian hard-liners in parliament vote against President Hassan Rouhani’s nominee for trade minister in the first showdown between the rival camps since the house resumed work in May despite the struggles to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

According to the parliament’s website, lawmakers reject Hossein Modares Khiabani’s nomination for minister of trade and industries.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf says the vote was 140-104 against the nominee. There were 254 lawmakers at the session and 10 abstained. The parliament has 290 seats.

The vote marks the first serious confrontation between the newly elected house, dominated by conservatives and the bloc of supporters of the relatively moderate Rouhani. Under the law, Rouhani must introduce new nominees to his cabinet in the next three months.

Rouhani in May dismissed the trade and industry minister at the time, Reza Rahmani, as Iran faced an unprecedented economic downturn amid intense pressure from the United States after President Donald Trump pulled America out of Iran’s nuclear with world powers and reimposed sanctions on the country. Khiabani, 52, had since been the acting trade minister.

Iran is also grappling with the largest and deadliest outbreak of the coronavirus in the Middle East, with more than 333,000 confirmed cases and at least 18,988 deaths.

— AP