TEHRAN- Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the speaker of the Iranian parliament, on Monday weighed in on the controversy surrounding claims that 75 legislators had previously received bribes to abstain from voting to unseat industry minister Seyyed Reza Fatemi Amin in an impeachment session in November 2022.

“We won’t waste any time in investigating this matter, and any misbehavior will be dealt with,” Qalibaf declared.

“I won’t let anyone mess with the Majlis reputation.”

Earlier, Ahmad Alireza Beigi, an MP representing Tabriz, said that 75 parliamentarians had received receipts for two Chinese automobile brands from Iranian authorized agencies. 

That’s in the midst of a sharp increase in market pricing that generates a significant profit for everybody who is persuaded to purchase a car from the manufacturer.

Amid soaring prices of automobiles as well as the rising costs of industrial products, Iran’s parliament decided on Sunday to unseat the industry, trade and mine minister Fatemi Amin, making him the first member of President Ebrahim Raisi’s cabinet failing to win the parliamentarians’ vote of confidence.

In the open session of parliament, Fatemi Amin took the podium to face questions from MPs who were dissatisfied with his ministry’s performance and management of the affairs.

In reference to the issue pertinent to vehicles, Fatemi Amin remarked, “The country’s car industry is in a dire state, but we are now in the middle of the way and we have reached good places.”

“The car industry has many issues, but today its price is more apparent,” said Fatemi Amin. He added, “Due to sanctions, automobile manufacturing has fluctuated.”

He added, “The adversary is aware of the significant economic impact that cars have.”

At the end, out of 272 MPs present in the 290-seat parliament, 162 MPs voted in favor of dismissing him, 102 voted no and two abstained.