
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's appeal to parliament against efforts to impeach President Hassan Rouhani will slow, but not stop, legislators' action against Rouhani's administration in its final year. In a July 12 address to parliament, Khamenei urged unity among Iran's leaders and voiced his support for Rouhani carrying out the remainder of his second term, which ends in 2021. The movement to impeach Rouhani and officials in his administration, which has been building since Iran's new parliament took office in late May , has accelerated over the last week. On July 5, 130 members of parliament signed a motion to question the president, marking a critical step toward impeachment. Khamenei said that the ongoing confrontation would only harm public opinion and thus government stability.