Gov’t Spokesman Resigns

The government spokesman resigned on Tuesday. In a  tweet he said President Hassan Rouhani has been under pressure to shuffle his cabinet.  Mohammad Bagher Nobakht said Rouhani had accepted his resignation and that he would focus on his duties as head of the Management and Planning Organization. “Although I have focused on both responsibilities as head of MPO and government spokesperson – which overlap in many aspects – I asked President Rouhani to let me use my power and focus on planning aspects and to devolve the responsibility of spokesman to another person,” he said. Rouhani has been under mounting pressure from both his allies and political opponents to reshuffle his economic team to better shield the economy and address down public discontent. Rouhani appointed a new central bank governor last week to check the free-fall of the national currency and save the nation further economic harm and instability.