Ian Black in Tehran on what Ali Kordan's faked degree means for Ahmadinejad (original) (raw)

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, suffered a serious blow today when Iran's parliament sacked his interior minister after he was caught out with a badly faked law degree from Oxford University.

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

The president's backing for the beleaguered minister until the eve of the vote 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, told the Guardian. "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 organising next summer's presidential elections, when the hardline Ahmadinejad is expected to stand for a second term. The vote suggests the president's chances of winning again may be diminishing.

Ali Larijani, the parliamentary 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," he added.

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 University 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 "preparing educational materials" and 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 the certificate to Oxford, which disavowed it. The Iranian government then blocked Alef's website from the internet.

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

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

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

"Ahmadinejad is becoming more and more vulnerable," said commentator Saeed Leylaz. "The vote showed that the prospect of winning the next election is dim for him."

Ahmadinejad, president since 2005, is notorious in the west for his comments on Israel and the Nazi 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 all but empty. In July he predicted oil prices would never fall below 100perbarrel.Pricestodaywerearound100 per barrel. Prices today were around 100perbarrel.Pricestodaywerearound63 a barrel.

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

Analysts and diplomats say a key question over the coming months will be the attitude of Iran's unelected supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who sits at the apex of the political system and has so far backed the president.

Ali Kordan joke box

A spoof "Oxford" dictionary circulating among Tehran university students lists the following entries:

Kordanize (v)
1. To get a PhD without having a Bsc
2. To become an important person (eg. minister) by presenting fake certificate or documents

Kordanification (n)
1. The process of getting a fake degree, especially from a prestigious university (e.g. Oxford)
2. The relationship between happiness and telling a big lie
3, A method to gain self-confidence

Kordanism (n)
1. The philosophy and strategy of telling a lie to a large group of people (e.g. a nation)
2. A psychological method for deceiving people and laughing simultaneously

Kordanic (adj)
1. Happy
2. Self-confident
3. Relaxed

Kordanicaly (adv)
1. In a Kordanic manner