"Economy and Finance Minister Davoud Danesh-Jafari would step down," reported the state-run news agency Fars close to Ahamdinejad, on Friday, April 4.
Other Iranian media, including a website belonging to Mohsen Rezaii, the former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed the report. The sources described this as "forced resignation."
"Economy and Finance Minister Davoud Danesh-Jafari would step down," reported the state-run news agency Fars close to Ahamdinejad, on Friday, April 4.
Other Iranian media, including a website belonging to Mohsen Rezaii, the former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed the report. The sources described this as "forced resignation."
On Saturday, Gholamhossein Elham, Ahmadinejad's spokesman categorized the news of resignations as a scenario "aimed at influencing the government's economic planning." But he refrained from denying the reports.
Informed sources in Tehran are suggesting that there are three more "forced resignations" to come: Mostafa Pourmohamadi, the interior minister; Manouchehr Motakki, the foreign minister and Mohammad Rahmati, the transportation minister.
Danesh-Jafari's resignation if it does happen, would be the sixth minister dismissed by Ahmadinejad since he took office in July 2005. Furthermore two other changes that include high officials with more power than the most ministries should be added to the list: Head of Planning and Budget Organization, and the Central Bank governor.
Observers consider the growing inflation as one of the reasons for the resignation of the Economy and Finance Minister. The Iranian regime puts the inflation rate in the Persian calendar year which ended on March 20 at above the 20 percent threshold. But independent economists who follow the state of Iran’s economy put the real level at well above 30 percent.
In the first days of the Iranian New Year, March 21, meat price reached 10,000 Tomans (10 US dollars) per kilo. Housing prices have been rising steadily.
An Iranian analyst said: "The major economic crisis in Iran is quite evident. But the forced resignation of the ministers is an indication of a political instability which has been shaking the Iranian regime in recent months." He referred to sackings of the IRGC's commander, the secretary of the regime's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, the powerful deputy interior minister in security affairs, Mohammad Baqer Zolghadr, and influential Friday prayer leaders in provinces of Kermanshah and Fars, as proof to his assessment.
According to the analyst, the Majlis elections in March indicated the depth of the crisis in Iran: "Candidates affiliated to Khamenei-Ahamdinejad faction in Tehran won their seats with only seven percent of the votes on average. This is based on the official figures published by the regime's Interior Ministry. It means that at least 93 percent of the voters were against the mullahs' supreme leader and the president."
Photo: A general view of the vegetable market in Islamshahr, about 50km (31 miles) southwest of Tehran, March 5, 2008. High prices still hit the pockets of ordinary consumers.
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Mohammad Amin, is an expert on Iranian affairs who writes for international news media and journals