Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian in a decree on Saturday dismissed his deputy for parliamentary affairs over the latter’s recent controversial trip to the South Pole.
In a decree published on his website, Pezeshkian said Shahram Dabiri‘s “leisure trip” to the South during Persian New Year holidays was “indefensible” at a time when the people inside Iran are “still under significant economic pressure.”
Dabiri, who served as vice president for parliamentary affairs, was seen near the Plancius cruise ship in Antarctica in a photo shared widely on social media in recent days.
It sparked a controversy at a time when economic situation in Iran continues to deteriorate, with many calling for the vice president’s resignation or dismissal.
“Such an expensive leisure trip by an official — even if funded personally — is indefensible and incompatible with the principles of simplicity expected of government officials,” Pezeshkian said, relieving Dabiri of his responsibilities in the government.
“Longstanding friendship and your valuable service in the parliamentary vice presidency do not prevent us from prioritizing our commitment to honesty, justice, and the promises we made to the people. Hence, we are unable to continue our cooperation with you in the 14th administration.”
Dabiri, a close aide of the reformist Iranian president, was appointed as the vice president for parliamentary affairs in August last year, after Pezeshkian assumed the office.
He had refused calls to resign, saying he would leave only if formally dismissed by the president.
Dabiri is the second senior government to be dismissed. In early March, Economy Minister Abdolnasser Hemmati had to leave his office after parliament gave a vote of no-confidence to him over economic woes.