Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif will remain at the helm of the country’s diplomatic apparatus after President Hassan Rouhani rejected his abrupt resignation and threw his full support behind the veteran official.
“I am honored to announce that the administration will continue to benefit from the effective and active presence of Dr. Zarif after the president refused to accept his resignation, much to the chagrin of the sworn enemies of the revolution and the establishment,” Mahmoud Vaezi, the presidential chief of staff, wrote in a Twitter post on Wednesday.
Parviz Esmaeili, Rouhani’s deputy chief of staff for communications, also took to Twitter: “Zarif, who enjoys the support of all top political and military officials, is still foreign minister and the most influential spokesperson of Iranians in the international arena and will continue to fight for national interests.”
The top diplomat announced his resignation on Instagram on Monday without giving a clear reason. The move would have deprived Rouhani of a key supporter in pushing the country toward further negotiations with the international community.
Zarif later said he hoped his resignation would act as a wakeup call and help return the ministry to its deserved status in the area of foreign policy.
Shortly after his announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced satisfaction at the news, saying, “Zarif has gone. Good riddance.”
The minister was seen on Wednesday joining the president and other Iranian officials during a ceremony welcoming Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Tehran.
National Interests
In a letter addressed to Zarif, Rouhani said, “As the Leader has described you as a ‘trustworthy, brave and religious’ person at the forefront of resistance against widespread US pressures, I consider accepting your resignation to be against national interests and reject it.”
The president added that he is well aware of the pressure on the Foreign Ministry but vowed that the administration will ride out the storm, his website reported on Wednesday.
Major General Qasem Soleimani said Zarif is the main person in charge of Iran’s foreign policy and has the backing of the Leader and other high-ranking authorities
Pressure has mounted on Zarif since US President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions. Many conservative officials took issue with the deal to begin with because it demanded that Iran curb its nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.
Rouhani also reiterated his previous call on all state bodies to be in “full coordination” with the ministry regarding foreign relations.
In another show of confidence, Major General Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, said on Wednesday that Zarif is the main person in charge of Iran’s foreign policy and has the backing of the Leader and other high-ranking authorities.
“He [Zarif] has taken valuable steps to protect national interests at different levels,” General Soleimani was quoted as saying by ISNA.
Possible Reason
Soleimani also seemed to confirm media reports that Zarif resigned over not being invited to Rouhani’s meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad who made his first public visit to Iran since the start of Syria’s war in 2011 on Monday. Assad also met with Ayatollah Khamenei.
Soleimani was present at both meetings.
“During Mr. Bashar al-Assad’s visit to Tehran and his meeting with President Rouhani, a lack of coordination at the Presidential Office … led to the foreign minister’s absence in the meeting that upset him,” the commander said, adding that it was not deliberate.
In an Instagram message on the same day, Zarif thanked all people and officials who expressed their support for him.
“As a modest servant, I never had any other concern but to uphold the foreign policy and the status of the Foreign Ministry … which is the frontline in the defense of national interests and the rights of the noble people of Iran,” he said, adding that he hopes the ministry will be able to fulfill all its responsibilities with full force within the framework of Iran's Constitution.
