Iranian Vice President Resigns

AP: An Iranian vice president, who was a close ally of reformist President Mohammad Khatami, resigned Tuesday, saying he could not work with the conservative-dominated parliament.
Mohammad Ali Abtahi first tendered his resignation in February, but it was not accepted. He said Tuesday that the president had accepted his resignation after he insisted … Associated Press

ALI AKBAR DAREINI

TEHRAN, Iran – An Iranian vice president, who was a close ally of reformist President Mohammad Khatami, resigned Tuesday, saying he could not work with the conservative-dominated parliament.

Mohammad Ali Abtahi first tendered his resignation in February, but it was not accepted. He said Tuesday that the president had accepted his resignation after he insisted he was unable to work with the hard-line parliament.

“I feel more than any other time that I can’t carry out my responsibilities,” Abtahi said in his latest resignation letter, dated Oct. 4.

Abtahi was vice president for legal and parliamentary affairs, one of several vice presidents.

Abtahi said he would continue to work for Khatami as an adviser.

“No matter where I go, I will remain committed to Khatami’s reform program and I believe that the package of peaceful democratic reforms he presented to the nation is the only solution to resolve the country’s problems,” Abtahi said.

Abtahi originally tried to resign after hard-liners in the Iranian establishment managed to disqualify hundreds of reformist candidates from running in the parliamentary elections.

Hard-liners recently accused Abtahi of seeking to bring about the collapse of the Islamic establishment.