Parliament Rejects Minister Again; Ministry of Science Still Without a Minister

On Tuesday, November 27, the Iranian Parliament did not approve Fakhruddin Ahmadi Danesh Ashtiani, the fourth proposed minister for the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology by President Hassan Rouhani. This marks the fourth candidate from Rouhani to be rejected by Parliament. According to the House of Representatives news agency, Danesh Ashtiani received only 70 votes in favor out of 257 total votes, with 171 against and 16 abstentions. During the open session, opponents of the proposed minister cited his membership in the founding board of the Participation Party, signing a letter supporting the sit-in of the sixth Parliament representatives, participating in protests against the 2009 presidential election results, and opposing the presence of the Basij student organization in universities as reasons for their opposition. A video was also shown during the session, depicting Danesh Ashtiani at the Amir Kabir University sit-in in 2009, which was subtitled to indicate his presence among the protesters. This video was aired after Mohammad Reza Tabesh, a representative from Ardakan, accused 'some forces from the Ministry of Intelligence' of providing documents against the proposed minister to Parliament members. Like the previous week, Danesh Ashtiani denied the accusations made against him during his speech on Tuesday. He stated that he was not a member of the founding board of the Participation Party, was not an assistant minister during the sixth Parliament's sit-in, and did not support that sit-in. Regarding his opposition to the Basij's presence in universities, he clarified that he opposed the presence of military bases of the Basij in universities. Alireza Zakani, a representative from Tehran, claimed during the session that the director of the Mofid Schools, where Danesh Ashtiani is the CEO, was arrested during the 2009 presidential protests, but Danesh Ashtiani responded that no director from this school had been arrested. He also refuted claims of the school being partisan, mentioning that children of several prominent figures, including Hossein Shariatmadari, the editor-in-chief of Kayhan newspaper, and Mohammad Reza Naqdi, head of the Basij Organization, had studied there. President Hassan Rouhani supported the proposed minister, stating, 'Contrary to what some media and websites claim, I have not been under pressure from any political group or personality in choosing the minister, nor am I someone who can be pressured in this regard.' Some opposing representatives claimed that the Ministry of Science had become a 'quota' for Mohammad Khatami, the former president of Iran, and the Participation Front. According to the official Islamic Republic News Agency, IRNA, Rouhani emphasized the difficulties of managing the country and noted that there are not many volunteers willing to take on responsibilities. He mentioned that sometimes they discuss responsibilities with individuals below the ministerial level and ask them to accept the roles. Rouhani stated that a person who can take on the Ministry of Science should be respected and knowledgeable in their field from the perspective of academics and the scholarly community. He added, 'It does not matter to me which party the individual has political ties with; what matters is their loyalty to the revolution, the Islamic system, the leadership of the revolution, the constitution, and serving the people.' Ali Motahari, a representative from Tehran, also defended the proposed minister, urging fellow representatives not to create a negative memory of the ninth Parliament in the minds of the people. The Iranian Parliament had previously impeached and dismissed Reza Faraji Dana, the Minister of Science, on August 29. Mahmoud Nili Ahmadabadi, Rouhani's new proposed candidate for the Ministry of Science, failed to gain the confidence of Parliament on November 7. The Iranian Parliament had also not approved Jaafar Mili Monfared, the proposed minister at the beginning of Rouhani's cabinet formation.