Iranian Mps Sack Ahmadinejad Ally Over Fake Oxford Degree

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, suffered a serious blow yesterday when parliament sacked his interior minister for faking a law degree from Oxford University.

Ali Kordan, a powerful figure on Iran's complex political scene, was told by the Majlis that he must face impeachment after he also admitted trying to bribe MPs not to proceed against him.

By backing Kordan until the eve of the vote, the president has tarnished his reputation as a fighter against corruption.

"This is a serious setback to Ahmadinejad and a triumph for parliament," Sadegh Zibakalam, a Tehran University political scientist, said. "In the past he has treated this Majlis with contempt, or as a rubber stamp. This is a boost to its morale."

Kordan's job included domestic security as well as organizing next summer's presidential elections, in which the hardline Ahmadinejad is expected to stand. The vote suggests his chances of winning a second term may be diminishing.

Ali Larijani, the Majlis speaker, said 188 deputies among the 247 present in the 290-member assembly voted to sack Kordan. "The impeachment was approved by parliament and he cannot be interior minister from now on," added Larijani.

Kordan, a former Revolutionary Guard, accused the media of a smear campaign by portraying him as a "terrorist", naming Israel Radio and Persian-language media based outside Iran.

The Kordan saga began in August when parliament, which vets ministerial appointments, voted on his confirmation. When MPs questioned his eligibility he produced a certificate purporting to be an "honorary doctorate of law" from Oxford and was approved by a slim margin.

Within days Iranian journalists were following up claims that the degree was bogus. Kordan released a copy of the document to quell speculation. But Alef, a website associated with one of Ahmadinejad's critics, pointed to typing errors, garbled English and misspellings, purportedly signed by three Oxford professors.

The certificate commended Kordan for "research in the domain of comparative law that has opened a new chapter not only in our university but, to our knowledge, this country". Alef passed it to Oxford, which disavowed it. The Iranian government then blocked access to Alef.

It later transpired that he also did not hold a bachelor's or a master's from Iran's Open University, as he had claimed.

Ahmadinejad defended Kordan by saying the disgraced minister should not be judged on a "piece of torn paper", a phrase he has used to dismiss UN resolutions against Iran's nuclear program.

One MP said the president could have won millions of votes by simply dismissing Kordan and that his support would cost him those votes next summer.

"Ahmadinejad is becoming more and more vulnerable," said Saeed Laylaz, an Iranian analyst. "[Yesterday's] vote showed that the prospect of winning the next election is dim for him."

Ahmadinejad is notorious in the west for his comments on Israel and the Holocaust. But most Iranians care more about the economic incompetence he has demonstrated in recent months.

Declining oil revenues have exposed his populist spending plans and left the state coffers almost empty. In July he predicted oil prices would never fall below $100 a barrel. Yesterday the price was about $63 a barrel.

Last week the Tehran stockmarket plunged 12% to its lowest close in years. Inflation is estimated at 27% or more.