TEHRAN , Iran ( CNN ) -- Iran 's parliament voted Tuesday to impeach Interior Minister Ali Kordan for listing a fake doctorate degree on his resume . Ali Kordan said someone duped him by saying he could earn the degree by writing an article . The vote unfolded amid political intrigue , with some analysts suggesting that opponents of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are trying to trigger a vote of confidence in the government by impeaching the interior minister . In a lengthy speech during the impeachment debate Tuesday morning , Kordan suggested the Israeli news media had organized the campaign to discredit him . He claimed he did not realize that his purported Ph . D. from England 's Oxford University was not real . He also said someone duped him by saying he could earn the degree by writing an article . There were 188 votes for impeachment , 45 against and 14 abstentions . Ahmadinejad , who promoted Kordan to be the interior minister in August , has backed him , calling the impeachment illegal . He told Iran 's Fars News Agency that his minister 's educational credentials should not make a difference . `` I do not care for a torn up piece of paper ( degree ) . What I care about is my ministers ' job performance and experience , '' Ahmadinejad said . Ahmadinejad 's representative was banned from the parliament amid allegations that he tried to bribe some members and forged others ' signatures on a petition that said they had withdrawn their support for the impeachment . Ahmadinejad then fired his representative . Although it is difficult to confirm details of political machinations in Tehran , some have suggested that Ahmadinejad 's opponents were using the impeachment in a strategy to destabilize Ahmadinejad 's administration ahead of June 's presidential election . If Kordan resigns , he will be the 10th minister in Ahmadinejad 's cabinet to leave the government for various reasons . Kordan is considered a close ally of Iran 's parliament speaker , Ali Larijani . He served as his deputy when Larijani was the head of IRIB , Iran 's national broadcasting company . Ahmadinejad 's term is up next year , but he is expected to seek another four years in office in the June election . CNN 's Shirzad Bozorgmehr in Tehran contributed to this report .
Iranian interior minister impeached for listing fake doctorate degree on resume . Some say opponents of President Ahmadinejad trying to trigger confidence vote . Ali Kordan suggested Israeli media had organized campaign to discredit him .