The Iranian regime’s parliament voted to impeach Economy Minister Abdolnaser Hemmati on March 2, 2025, marking a significant escalation in the regime’s internal power struggle. After a heated session, in which the regime’s President Masoud Pezeshkian and Hemmati himself attempted to defend his record, lawmakers overwhelmingly passed the motion with 183 votes in favor, 89 against, and one abstention. With this vote, Hemmati’s tenure as Economy Minister ended after less than seven months in office, making him the first minister to be ousted from Pezeshkian’s fragile government. However, this impeachment is far from a mere policy dispute—it exposes the regime’s growing fractures, as rival factions seek scapegoats to shield the regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei from blame while simultaneously using the crisis to settle internal scores and deceive a restless society on the brink of explosion.
A Political Showdown to Conceal Khamenei’s Role
Iran’s parliament, dominated by extremist factions close to Khamenei, has accused Hemmati of failing to control inflation, stabilize the currency, and prevent economic freefall. Yet, the regime’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, defending his minister, acknowledged that Iran’s financial instability is beyond the government’s control. “From day one, we were confronted with fundamental economic imbalances,” he told lawmakers, adding that Iran is “engaged in a full-scale war” as countries like Qatar, Iraq, and Turkey refuse to return Iranian assets.
Pezeshkian’s remarks inadvertently highlighted a truth the regime seeks to obscure: the government’s role in shaping economic policy is minimal. Major financial and economic decisions—ranging from monetary policies to foreign trade and sanctions evasion—are dictated by Khamenei’s office, not by the Economy Minister or even the President. The faction pushing for Hemmati’s removal is well aware of this but seeks to use his impeachment as a political maneuver to reinforce its own standing while misleading the public about the regime’s accountability.
#Iran’s Ruling Factions Turn on Each Other Amid Deepening Economic Crisishttps://t.co/sA8jhOo0nY
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) February 28, 2025
Hemmati: The Convenient Scapegoat
Hemmati, in his defense, pointed to structural problems rather than personal failures. He reassured lawmakers that the exchange rate—now hovering around 91,000 tomans per dollar—would stabilize and argued that Iran’s economic turmoil is a product of broader geopolitical shifts. “Events in Syria and Lebanon, the loss of major resistance leaders, and Trump’s direct economic warfare” have all contributed to the current crisis, he said.
Despite these justifications, Hemmati’s impeachment was never about economic competence. His removal is a political calculation by extremist factions that see an opportunity to purge figures associated with previous administrations while shielding Khamenei from blame. By focusing attention on a single minister, they aim to fabricate the illusion that policy failures stem from government mismanagement rather than systemic corruption and misrule.
Parliamentary Infighting and the Struggle for Power
The impeachment effort has also laid bare the internal corruption within the regime. Reports have surfaced of lawmakers being bribed to either support or withdraw their signatures from the impeachment petition. Pezeshkian, sensing the political motives behind the move, criticized the spectacle, stating: “If changing individuals could solve our problems, then why hasn’t it worked before?” His comments underscored the futility of the regime’s endless cycle of reshuffling officials while ignoring the root causes of economic collapse.
Rival Factions in #Iran Clash Over Economy Minister’s Fate Amid #Economic Collapsehttps://t.co/89D7Sa4O0L
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) February 26, 2025
Meanwhile, MP Mohammad Qasim Osmani, an opponent of the impeachment, warned that removing Hemmati would only deepen instability. “This is the only government that has inherited such extraordinary circumstances. Instead of pulling it down, we should be supporting it,” he argued.
A Desperate Regime Facing an Explosive Society
Beyond the factional infighting, the real crisis facing the regime is the growing rage of the Iranian people. The impeachment drama is an attempt to distract from skyrocketing inflation, widespread poverty, and an economic system crippled by corruption and mismanagement. Hemmati himself acknowledged that “over the past seven years, 10 million people have fallen below the poverty line,” a stunning admission of the regime’s failure.
Despite the political theater, all factions—including those orchestrating Hemmati’s removal—are acutely aware that public discontent is reaching a breaking point. The regime’s escalating crackdowns, mass arrests, and executions signal its fear of imminent social unrest. The impeachment spectacle is, at its core, an attempt to pacify an outraged population while rival factions battle for influence behind the scenes.
Yet, as history has shown, scapegoating officials will do little to curb the regime’s decline. The Iranian people are well aware that Khamenei and his inner circle—not a single minister—are responsible for their suffering. The true crisis facing the clerical dictatorship is not just economic collapse but the growing realization among its citizens that the entire system is beyond reform.