Ice, Scandal, and Fury: Iran's Vice President Sacked Over Antarctic Luxury Trip
"Amid economic hardship, lavish trips by officials—even if self-funded—are indefensible," Pezeshkian stated via IRNA.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - In a dramatic display of political accountability—or damage control—President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran fired his deputy for parliamentary affairs on Saturday after a photo surfaced showing the official vacationing aboard a luxury Antarctic cruise, even as the country battles a crushing economic crisis.
The now-former vice president, Shahram Dabiri, a 64-year-old physician and longtime confidant of Pezeshkian, was dismissed in a swift presidential decree following widespread public outrage.
The scandal broke after an image went viral on social media showing Dabiri and a woman identified as his wife posing near the Plancius, a Dutch-flagged expedition cruise ship known for its opulent voyages to the icy continent. One agency lists its eight-day itinerary at a staggering 3,885 euros per person—a jaw-dropping figure in a country where the average citizen is struggling to put food on the table.
"In a context where economic pressure on the population remains high... expensive leisure trips by officials, even if paid out of their own pocket, are neither defensible nor justifiable," Pezeshkian wrote in a statement published by the state-run IRNA.
Though Dabiri’s office insisted the trip occurred before he assumed office in August, the timing of the photo’s emergence—amid soaring inflation and a plummeting rial—sparked fury among Iranians. Many viewed the image as emblematic of an elite disconnected from the reality of everyday life.
The dismissal follows another high-profile shakeup last month, when Parliament ousted Economy Minister Abdolnasser Hemmati over similar economic grievances.
With Dabiri gone and critics circling, Pezeshkian’s pledge to restore economic stability faces yet another credibility test—this time, in the frozen wake of Antarctica.
