Ahmadinejad dismisses move to impeach Kordan

Tehran: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has dismissed an upcoming impeachment hearing for his interior minister who has come under fire after he admitted he had a fake degree from Oxford University.

The minister, Ali Kordan, will go before parliament on Tuesday after an honorary degree he claimed was awarded to him by the elite British university was found to be a fake.

Both conservative and moderate lawmakers have called on Kordan to resign or face a no-confidence vote in the parliament and be dismissed from his Cabinet post.

But Ahmadinejad called the move to impeach Kordan illegal, because he did not commit any wrongdoing while in office, the state-run news agency, IRNA, reported.

"We do consider the parliament to be our ally, but we do not approve any impeachment" of Kordan, Ahmadinejad was quoted by IRNA as saying.

He said his administration would abide by any decision made by the parliament, but the hardline president also accused his opponents of being behind the call for Kordan's impeachment, IRNA reported. "Apparently some want to put the administration in trouble," IRNA quoted him as saying.

On Sunday, Ahmadinejad dismissed a government official over allegations he tried to pay lawmakers in exchange for their promised not to impeach Kordan, IRNA reported.

The official, Mohammad Abbasi, allegedly tried to persuade parliament members last week not to impeach the country's interior minister by offering them money.