Raisi Rebuffed As Parliament Rejects His Second Choice For Education Minister

Iran's parliament Tuesday rejected for the second time President Ebrahim Raisi's nominee for education minister, amid a noisy rift within the hardliner camp.

Of 260 lawmakers present, 140 opposed Raisi's [Raeesi] candidate, Masoud Fayazi, while 115 voted in favor and five abstained.

The parliament's opposition had revealed itself last week when Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf (Qalibaf) announced the nomination on November 9. Lawmakers drowned the speaker's voice by their shouts of disapproval.

Having nominated Fayazi November 8, Raisi attended the session to say he and colleagues had interviewed him and rated him an excellent candidate. His vehement defense of Fayazi and his presence in the parliament to back his candidate made the defeat even more damaging for Raisi.

President Ebrahim Raisi pleading his case with lawmakers. November 16, 2021

Fayazi’s critics highlighted alleged discrepancies in his career, suggesting he taught in university before getting a bachelor's degree in civil engineering that took him 15 years to complete. They suggested he had taken nine years to achieve a master's degree in Islamic law without getting “full accreditation.” They disputed his doctorate and said he had never taught in a school or been a school principal.

In his speech to parliament, Raisi disputed charges of nepotism – based on Fayazi being a relative of Tehran mayor Alireza Zakani – and argued that it was unjust to ignore a person’s achievements because of any connections they might have. The president suggested that the nomination was based on “God’s approval…proven to me as a jurist.”

Masoud Fayazi, Raisi's candidate rejected by parliament.

Rejection of Raisi's second nominee signifies that the conservative majority in parliament is not prepared to offer the president unconditional support. Iranian media already proclaims “the end of the honeymoon” with many principlists expressing disapproval of Raisi's choices for ministerial positions and lack of clear plans to deal with multiple crises facing Iran.

Allegations of nepotism are a staple of Iranian politics and were quickly made against Raisi, who took office in August. Fayazi is the brother of Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani's son-in-law. Zakani's own appointment by the new conservative-dominated Tehran city council in August highlighted a lively division in the camp.

In August, the parliament approved all Raisi’s ministerial nominations except for education minister, Hossein Baghgoli, who is reportedly a relative of his wife. Raisi is the son-in-law of the Friday prayer imam of Mashhad, Iran's second largest city.

Raisi has only one week left of three months allowed for approving ministers. If he fails to present another candidate, or the candidate is again rejected, the president will need to appoint a caretaker for three months or assume responsibility for the ministry himself. The law requires a caretaker minister to be approved by the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.

Iran's Raisi Under Fire By Friends And Foes On Day 100 In Office

Nov 14, 2021, 17:07 GMT

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Iran International Newsroom

On his 100th day in office President Ebrahim Raisi has come under fire by both friends and foes for failing to make a dent in Iran’s economic and other crises.

Oddly enough, while reformists and conservatives alike highlighted Raisi’s shortcomings, his only defendant appears to be his father-in-law, the firebrand Friday Prayers Imam of Mashhad in northeastern Iran.

Reformist daily newspaper Sharq in its Twitter account quoted Alamolhioda as having said on Friday that "Problems cannot be sorted out within a hundred days, although one can begin to move toward an improvement." However, Alamolhoda did not say whether Raisi has made the move yet. Meanwhile, Tehran's Friday Prayers Imam Seddighi attributed all economic problems as well as water shortage to the "sins committed by young Iranians."

Reformist analyst Abbas Abdi, told conservative daily Sobh-e No in an interview that there were three positive points in Raisi's track record during the past 100 days: "His provincial visits, boosting nationwide vaccination against COVID-19, and refraining from badmouthing Iranian and foreign individuals and organizations."

However, Abdi warned that that the people might be soon disillusioned with the president’s provincial visits if they see no improvement in their situation. Meanwhile, many critics have pointed out that the progress in vaccination is being highlighted after months of delays in the purchase of vaccines from abroad.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei banned American and British vaccines in January, thwarting the national vaccination effort until August, when Raisi took office.

Abdi criticized Raisi for his failure to define and pursue a clear a foreign policy, key to solving economic problems, and to sort out issues in the country's domestic politics which is most prominently evident in the appointment of officials' relatives to key posts in the government mindless of their lack of qualifications.

Meanwhile, Gholamreza Noori, a conservative lawmaker in an interview with moderate website Rouydad24 said that "the country's economy is facing a major crisis and criticism of the Raisi administration is gaining momentum on a daily basis." He also criticized Raisi for his provincial visits saying that "It is good that he visits the provinces, but it is not good that he says he visits to find out about their problems." He added that it is regrettable the Raisi administration has started its fourth month in office failing to stabilize skyrocketing prices.

Noori added: "Every day if you listen to parliament proceedings on the radio you will hear conservative lawmakers complaining against the administration's shortcomings." He warned that "There is a limit to the lawmakers' patience."

A similar warning was made by Abdi who said Raisi should note that his honeymoon with the Majles (parliament) is going to end soon.

Like many other conservative and reformist critics, Noori charged that "Raisi has no plan to solve any problem." He added: "The administration has still not responded to lawmakers' questions about how it is going to tackle the budget deficit and how it is going to regulate the markets. And there is no indication that the government is going to take the initiative about problems such as the JCPOA and FATF."

The lack of a plan on the part of the government to solve the country's problems was also highlighted in reformist figure Ali Soufi's article about Raisi's 100 days in office. Soufi said that this will badly harm the government's credibility. Meanwhile, like many other critics affiliated with various political groups, Soufi also denounced nepotism in the government.

Earlier, another lawmaker, Massoud Pezeshkian had warnedthat if these problems are not solved within a reasonable period of time, the nationwide protests that shook Iran in 2018 and 2019 are likely to reoccur.