Tehran’s Mayor Mohammad Ali Najafi has once again resigned a few hours after Prosecutor-General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri threatened him to step down.

Montazeri on April 9 called the city council’s rejection of Najafi’s first resignation “political” and told the Mayor to resign again.

The mayor’s second resignation was announced only one day after the Tehran City Council rejected his first resignation on April 8.

Some of the council members said on Sunday that Najafi had resigned under political pressure, although he had mentioned “illness” as the reason.

Montazeri called the council’s rejection of Najafi’s resignation “an act of treason,” adding that the council should be held accountable if the ailing mayor fails to fulfill his responsibilities.

Montazeri’s statement “Resign and you won’t be prosecuted,” is one of the most blatant interventions by a judiciary official in this matter.

Referring to Montazeri’s remark, Council member Zahar Sadrazam Nouri said, “Now pressures are being exerted on the mayor openly.”

Another council member Mohammad Javad Haghshenas said in a tweet, “The prosecutor’s comment is beyond his legal status, and in violation of the Constitutional Law.”

Reformist MP Mahmoud Sadeqi reminded in a tweet “This is clearly within the city council’s jurisdiction to decide on the mayor’s resignation.”

Tehran City Council Chairman Mohsen Hashemi has confirmed that the mayor has resigned again, while IRGC-linked Fars news agency reported that the city council might name an acting mayor for the time being rather than appointing a new mayor.

Meanwhile, the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) quoted Council Chairman Mohsen Hashemi as saying that Najafi has informed the council that he will not be able to fulfill his responsibilities as his doctor is making preparations for a surgical operation on him.

The council is going to decide on the mayor’s second resignation on Tuesday April 10, said Hashemi. This comes while Council member Hojat Nazari told Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA) that the council would not discuss the resignation before next week.

Previously, several Iranian news websites reported “the IRGC Intelligence Organization exerted pressure on Najafi to resign.”

Najafi has repeatedly spoken about “widespread illegal actions at the Tehran Municipality” under former conservative Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf. But when he said that he was planning to send some of these cases to Judiciary for investigation,

Tehran’s hardline Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi challenged Najafi to present his evidence to the Prosecutor’s Office “immediately.”

Meanwhile, the Tehran Prosecutor summoned Jafari to court in mid-March, after a video was released on social media showing Najafi at a Women’s Day ceremony where young girls were dancing.

Iran’s conservatives controlled the Tehran City Council for 14 years between 2003 and 2017. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was the first Tehran Mayor elected by a conservative council in 2003. He took over as the country’s president within two years.

Qalibaf, who was defeated in the 2005 presidential election, took over as Tehran’s mayor in 2005 although he kept trying his luck as a presidential candidate in 2013 and 2017. His term of office as Mayor came to an end with reformist faction’s overwhelming victory in the council elections in March 2017, and Najafi replaced him in August.</s>After resignation of Tehran’s mayor on Monday for the second time, councilors mulled over the resignation process and agreed with it unanimously.

Of 21 votes in total, fifteen were in favor, five were against and one was blank.

After accepting resignation of Tehran's Mayor Mohammad Ali Najafi, councilors submitted their proposals until the selection of new mayor in an expert-level session. In the meantime, 14 councilors proposed appointment of Samiollah Hosseini Makarem as caretaker for this significant post at Tehran Municipality.

Eventually, Hosseini Makarem was appointed by councilors unanimously as caretaker of Tehran Municipality with 14 votes out of 21 votes cast.

Earlier, Hosseini Makarem served Deputy Municipality of Tehran for Financial and Economic Affairs.

It should be noted that City Council members on Sun. rejected the resignation submitted by Tehran’s mayor Mohammad Ali Najafi over 'ill health' and voted for his remaining in office.

A session was held on Sunday at the City Council, chaired by Mohsen Hashemi, to discuss the resignation of Tehran’s mayor Mohammad Ali Najafi.

Mr. Najafi handed in his resignation on March 14, citing medical reasons.

“What forced me to hand in my resignation from the City Council was my poor medical condition,” Najafi said during the session today, adding that he is currently undergoing treatment.

“I would like to ask you not to link my resignation to political issues, although intensifying factors are always there to exacerbate the case,” he added.

The Chairman Mohsen Hashemi, speaking before the voting, rejected rumors that the reason behind Najafi’s resignation was lack of support from the City Council, adding that the assumption was “unfair” and “untrue”.</s>TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s state TV says the Tehran city council has accepted the resignation of Mayor Mohammad Ali Najafi who resigned last month after hard-liners criticized him for attending a school performance in which girls were dancing.

Tuesday’s report says 15 of the 21-member council voted in favour of accepting the resignation. Najafi was summoned by prosecutors in March to explain his presence at the school performance on the International Women’s Day.

Najafi, a U.S.-educated 65-year-old technocrat who came into office in August promising to fight corruption, submitted his resignation in mid-March, but the council rejected it at a meeting on Sunday.

Iran’s general prosecutor, Mohammad Jafar Montazerim, then urged Najafi to disregard the rejection and resign for a second time.</s>Posted on 10 April 2018 - 05:13pm Last updated on 10 April 2018 - 05:27pm

TEHRAN: Tehran's reformist mayor was replaced on Tuesday following claims he was threatened with arrest if he did not step down.

Mohammad Ali Najafi, who took power after reformists swept the council elections last May, said he was suffering from unspecified health problems that required extensive treatment.

But his allies say he was under pressure after accusing his conservative predecessors of corruption.

Morteza Alviri, a member of the council and a former mayor, said on Sunday that Najafi was summoned one night to the prosecutor's office.

"I'm informed he was summoned, not in a polite manner", Alviri said in a video posted on the reformist Khabaronline website.

He said Najafi was woken while in bed.

"I heard he was threatened with arrest," Alviri added.

Najafi had attracted criticism from hardliners last month after attending a show at City Hall for Iranian Women's Day in which schoolgirls performed a traditional dance.

Islamic law in Iran prohibits public dancing, and prosecutor general Mohammad Jafar Montazeri said the show included "acts against public morality" and Islamic tradition.

Najafi resigned a few days later, citing health reasons he had not previously mentioned.

The council rejected his decision, prompting the prosecutor general to accuse them of playing "a political game" and calling on Najafi to submit a fresh resignation, which he did on Monday.

The second resignation was approved by the council on Tuesday, and he has been temporarily replaced by a deputy, Samiollah Hosseini Makarm.

Najafi's supporters strongly criticised the prosecutor's involvement, and asked why he was not instead focused on the corruption allegations revealed by the mayor.

Reformists displaced the conservatives for the first time in 14 years in last year's municipal elections.

In January, Najafi presented a report on the previous administration, run by former police chief and presidential candidate Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, saying large sums had been diverted from council contracts into officials' pockets.

The report said thousands were being kept on the payroll in non-existent jobs, according to the semi-official Isna news agency, and an extra 13,000 added ahead of the election.

"Inside the municipality, there have been many serious financial violations, but no one has been invited to explain these violations," Alviri told Khabaronline. — AFP</s>Tehran's reformist mayor was replaced yesterday following claims he was threatened with arrest if he did not step down.

Mohammad Ali Najafi, who took power after reformists swept the council elections last May, said he was suffering from unspecified health problems that required extensive treatment. But his allies say he was under pressure after accusing his conservative predecessors of corruption.

Morteza Alviri, a member of the council and a former mayor, said on Sunday that Najafi was summoned one night to the prosecutor's office. "I'm informed he was summoned, not in a polite manner", Alviri said in a video posted on the reformist Khabaronline website. He said Najafi was woken while in bed. "I heard he was threatened with arrest," Alviri added.

Najafi had attracted criticism from hardliners last month after attending a show at City Hall for Iranian Women's Day in which schoolgirls performed a traditional dance.

Islamic law in Iran prohibits public dancing, and prosecutor general Mohammad Jafar Montazeri said the show included "acts against public morality" and Islamic tradition. Najafi resigned a few days later, citing health reasons he had not previously mentioned. The council rejected his decision, prompting the prosecutor general to accuse them of playing "a political game" and calling on Najafi to submit a fresh resignation, which he did on Monday.

The second resignation was approved by the council yesterday, and he has been temporarily replaced by a deputy, Samiollah Hosseini Makarm.

Najafi's supporters strongly criticized the prosecutor's involvement, and asked why he was not instead focused on the corruption allegations revealed by the mayor. Reformists displaced the conservatives for the first time in 14 years in last year's municipal elections.</s>David Holt was sworn into office before Tuesday's city council meeting.

For the first time in 14 years, Oklahoma City officially has a new mayor.

For the first time in 14 years, Oklahoma City officially has a new mayor.

David Holt was sworn into office before Tuesday's city council meeting.

Holt served under Mayor Mick Cornett, before becoming a member of the Oklahoma Senate.

Inside his conference room, the new mayor has hung pictures of children who represent the diversity of Oklahoma City.

“Those pictures of those kids are demographically represented of the kids of OKC, who are 60 percent minority,” said Mayor Holt.

The city’s 36th mayor said it’s important for him to promote inclusion while leading the city.

“Every day I’ll be making sure everybody in our city feels they’re a part of our community. To me, that means making sure the diversity of our city is incorporated into our decision making,” said Mayor Holt.

Mayor Holt will be instrumental in what a possible MAPS4 plan will look like to voters. But he said right now, he’s not ready to list any possible MAPS4 project ideas.
Tehran Mayor Mohammad-Ali Najafi resigns from his post after eight months in the office. His last resignation was rejected by the City Council.