Iran’s parliament summoned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for questioning, semi-official Mehr news agency said on Monday, raising tensions in a power struggle between factions in the Islamic Republic’s ruling elite. Ahmadinejad – facing parliamentary elections next year and a presidential race in 2013 – must attend the assembly within a month, Mehr said, after 100 lawmakers signed a motion calling him in.
Unless he can persuade parliament to withdraw the summons, Ahmadinejad will face questions over his delay in nominating a sports minister and in granting parliament-approved funding to the Tehran Metro , Mehr said.
Both issues are the subject of long-running tussles between president and lawmakers and some members of parliament have suggested impeaching Ahmadinejad over what his critics in the house have called his “demagogic” manner. The conservative-dominated parliament has often used its constitutional powers against Ahmadinejad, particularly over ministerial appointments and budgetary matters, and most recently rejected a close ally he nominated as deputy foreign minister. Ahmadinejad’s opponents have been emboldened by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s intervention in April to stop the president sacking his intelligence minister, which analysts said showed he could no longer count on the complete support of Iran’s top authority.
