( CNN ) -- Iranian lawmakers have summoned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to answer questions before Parliament about his management of economic policies and key government ministers . The move comes after a power struggle between Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei spilled into public view last year . It is the first time since the Iranian Revolution in 1979 that the Parliament has succeeded in summoning a president to testify before it . The internal political tensions coincide with outside pressure on Iran from the United States and other countries over Tehran 's nuclear program . One of the most sensitive questions lawmakers say they plan to ask concerns Ahmadinejad 's failed attempt to fire Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi in April . When Khamenei vetoed the move , Ahmadinejad retreated from the public eye , skipping Cabinet meetings . Top officials and media outlets close to Khamenei subsequently mounted a campaign of criticism singling out Ahmadinejad . Iranian news agencies reported that Ahmadinejad 's palace prayer leader , Abbas Amirifar , faced charges of `` sorcery '' after producing a controversial film . Public criticism also focused on Ahmadinejad 's brother-in-law and chief of staff , Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei , whom Ahmadinejad appeared to have been grooming as a successor . The motion to summon Ahmadinejad , read out in Parliament on Tuesday , contained a long list of issues lawmakers want to take up with him , the semi-official Mehr News Agency reported , including `` the president 's alleged resistance to accept the Supreme Leader 's decree to reinstate the intelligence minister . '' Other topics include `` the dismissal of the former foreign minister while on a diplomatic mission in Senegal , '' several apparently flawed economic policy efforts and `` the president 's support for the promotion of the Iranian school of thought instead of the Islamic school of thought , '' according to Mehr . Lawmakers say that the answers Ahmadinejad 's administration has provided so far have failed to satisfy them . Article 88 of the Iranian Constitution stipulates that the president must appear before the Parliament within a month of being summoned , unless lawmakers decide to withdraw the motion , according to the state-run Press TV . Deputy Speaker Mohammad Reza Bahonar said Tuesday that lawmakers hoped Ahmadinejad would appear by mid-March . Ahmadinejad has been in office since 2005 . He was re-elected in 2009 amid widespread demonstrations by the opposition . Khamenei backed Ahmadinejad through the tumult that followed the election , including a crackdown on protesters , during which security forces were unleashed on crowds and activists were prosecuted and jailed . Khamenei , a former president , became the supreme leader of Iran in 1989 after the death of Ayatollah Khomeini . CNN 's Mitra Mobasherat contributed to this report .
Lawmakers say they want to question President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad . The U.S. and Iran have been at odds over Iran's nuclear program for years. The move comes after a power struggle between Ahmadinejad and Iran 's supreme leader .