Minister of Roads and Urban Development Abbas Akhoundi has accepted the resignation of Alireza Jahangirian as head of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization (CAO).

Words have spread that CAO chief’s abrupt resignation has been part of a plan to save the roads minister from impeachment in parliament.

A number of Iranian MPs signed a motion earlier this year to impeach the minister following the crash back in 2014 of an Iran-140 Sepahan Air passenger plane near Tehran's Mehrabad airport which killed dozens of people.

There are speculations that the minister’s confirmation of Jahangirian’s resignation is meant to downplay reports which accuse Akhoundi of shirking his responsibility.

By IFP