93 MPs sign motion to summon Ahmadinejad over disarray in forex market

TEHRAN,Oct.8(MNA) – Ninety three MPs have signed a motion to summon President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the parliament to answer their questions about the current disarray in Iran’s foreign exchange market, an unidentified MP told the Mehr News Agency on Sunday. He also said that more MPs have decided to sign the motion, adding that it is likely that the motion will be presented to the Majlis Presiding Board on Wednesday. A motion to summon the president must be signed by at least 74 MPs before it can be submitted to the Majlis Presiding Board. Iran’s rial has recently fallen against the U.S. dollar in open-market trade. The government has taken some stopgap measures, such as establishing a foreign exchange center to provide importers of goods with dollars at a reduced rate, to stop the decline in the value of the Iranian currency and managed to bring relative calm to the country’s rattled foreign exchange market. On March 14, Ahmadinejad appeared before the parliament and answered MPs’ questions about a number of the administration’s irregularities. It was the first time in the history of Iran’s Islamic Revolution of 1979 that a president had been summoned to the Majlis. Intelligence minister to answer MPs’ questions about forex market MP Qassem Jafari has said that lawmakers plan to invite Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi to a parliamentary session this week to ask him questions about the current disarray in the foreign exchange market. According to MPs’ discussions with economic experts, it was concluded that the impact of the sanctions on the country’s economy has been 20 to 30 percent, Jafari told the Persian service of the Mehr News Agency in an interview published on Saturday. And it is organized groups inside the country, which take orders from abroad, that have thrown the foreign exchange market into disarray, he said, adding that it is expected that the Intelligence Ministry deal with the people who are manipulating the market.