Iranian lawmakers demand Rouhani overhaul economic team

Nearly two-thirds of Iran’s MPs have written to President Hassan Rouhani demanding he change his economic team to deal with the country’s worsening financial woes, state media says.

“The poor performance of senior officials in charge of the economy over the past few years has led to the population’s increased distrust,” wrote 187 of the Iranian parliament’s 290 lawmakers, in a letter published by IRNA news agency.

The warning follows demonstrations and a rare strike at the Grand Bazaar in Tehran, as Iranians protested their country’s dire economic situation.

In their letter, the members of parliament urge Rouhani to act “as a matter of urgency,” calling on the president to make changes “in the management of the economic team.”

The overhaul must bring “dynamism” and an “understanding” of the economic situation, they wrote, before parliament “makes a decision on the matter.”

The government’s economic team is made up of vice-presidents and ministers, as well as Rouhani’s economic advisers and the central bank president.

— AFP