Ministers in Iran are moving closer to impeaching President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad following a long series of clashes between him and supporters of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Several members of parliament say that Ahmadinejad will be impeached if he continues to support his chief of staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, who is described as a “deviant current” and is accused of corruption and sorcery.

Supporters of Khamenei, which includes the vast majority of the Majlis, or parliament, say that Ahmadinejad is influenced by Mashaei. Both men are accused of trying to rig the parliamentary elections due to be held in March 2012.

One member of parliament, Ali Motahari says that the motion to impeach Ahmadinejad will be delivered within 10 days.

“In a meeting with the parliamentary clerics, we decided to launch the motion [to impeach the president] in less than 10 days and avoid any delays,” Motahari was quoted as saying by local news agencies.

Ahmadinejad has angered the parliament after he reshuffled his cabinet and took over the oil ministry temporarily. The president also faced impeachment in April when he abandoned his office for 11 days after Khamenei refused to accept the resignation of Intelligence Minister Heider Moslehi. Ahmadinejad had forced Moslehi to resign.

Impeachment proceedings have also been launched against Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi after he appointed Mohammad Sharif Malekzadeh, a close ally of Mashaei, as his deputy.

Malekzadeh has now resigned (MEED 21:6:11).