Quote:LONDON (Reuters) - Iran’s parliament voted on Tuesday to reject President Hassan Rouhani’s explanations for economic hardship after a dramatic grilling on live TV, a sign his pragmatic faction is losing sway to hardline rivals as new U.S. sanctions begin to bite.

The vote in parliament came two days after lawmakers sacked the minister of economy and finance and weeks after they sacked the labor minister, blaming them for the collapse of the rial currency and surging inflation.

Rouhani won two landslide elections on a platform of economic reform and opening Iran up to the outside world, and his pragmatic supporters have a majority in the parliament. But his reputation and political influence have taken a sharp hit as his promised economic gains have failed to materialize.

His highest profile achievement was to negotiate the lifting of financial sanctions on Iran in a 2015 deal with world powers over its nuclear program, but U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out in May and Washington has re-imposed sanctions.