Sanctions-hit Iran impeaches labour minister

TEHRAN - Iran's Labour Minister Ali Rabiei was impeached on Wednesday after months of mounting anger over the government's handling of an economic crisis which has deepened with the return of US sanctions.

Rabiei lost a confidence motion in parliament by 129 votes to 111, giving President Hassan Rouhani three months to replace him.

Rouhani has been under mounting pressure in recent weeks to reshuffle his economic team.

The withdrawal of the United States from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal led to the first tranche of related sanctions being reimposed on Tuesday.

But Iran was already struggling with longstanding problems of unemployment and low investment, which his team has appeared powerless to tackle.

Rabiei, 62, is a longstanding ally of Rouhani, who also served as an adviser to reformist former president Mohammad Khatami between 1997 and 2005.