One of Iran's most outspoken reformists, Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi, announced yesterday he had submitted his resignation from the increasingly isolated pro-reform government. "It is up to the president to approve this decision," Abtahi told the student news agency ISNA, adding that President Mohammad Khatami — who has a total of eight vice presidents in his Cabinet — should reach a decision soon.
News of Abtahi's intention to quit came a day after the now conservative-controlled Parliament impeached the reformist transport minister, Ahmad Khorram, for mismanagement, corruption, a spate of accidents and favoring foreign firms in handing out government contracts. Abtahi, a jovial and rotund mid-ranking cleric who is vice president for judicial and parliamentary affairs, has been one of the most outspoken members of Khatami's government. But he said that working with hard-liners, who took control of Parliament in May after most reformists were barred from contesting February elections, had become impossible. "For some time I have reached the conclusion that given the differences between my political viewpoints and those of the Parliament, I cannot fulfill my responsibilities," Abtahi told ISNA. "For this reason, I have since some time presented my resignation to President Mohammad Khatami so that the understanding between the government and the parliament can be improved," he said. |