MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Iran sacks VP over luxurious Patagonian cruise ship trip

The sacked official claimed the luxurious Patagonian cruise trip stemmed from before holding public office

Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian Saturday sacked Vice President Shahram Dabiri after a photo surfaced on Instagram of the latter and his wife on a luxurious trip to Antarctica aboard the cruise ship Plancius. An eight-day trip on that ship can cost around US$ 4,000 per person, it was reported.

The image went viral and sparked outrage amid Iran’s severe economic crisis, marked by hyperinflation and poverty. Dabiri reportedly boarded the cruise ship in Tierra del Fuego.

Pezeshkian called Dabiri’s actions “unjustifiable and unacceptable,” emphasizing that such expensive trips, even if self-funded, were indefensible given the economic pressures on Iranians. Dabiri, a 64-year-old physician appointed in August 2024, was dismissed despite claims from his office that the trip occurred before he took office.

The President described as “unjustifiable and unacceptable” the conduct of the official who was in charge of parliamentary affairs at a time when hyperinflation and the economic crisis were suffocating Iranian citizens. Therefore, this Saturday morning, he removed him from his post.

”In a context in which the economic pressure on the population remains high (...), expensive recreational trips by those in charge, even if they bear their own expenses, are neither defensible nor justifiable,“ the Iranian president said in a letter published by the official Irna agency.

”Our long friendship and your invaluable services in the Vice-Presidency for Parliamentary Affairs do not prevent you from prioritizing the fulfillment of honesty, justice, and the promises made to the people,” he added.

It was the second blow to Pezeshkian’s administration, following the recent parliamentary dismissal of Economy Minister Abdolnaser Hemati, as Iran faces renewed US sanctions.