Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif late Monday announced his resignation unexpectedly on Instagram.
“Many thanks for the generosity of the dear and brave people of Iran and its authorities over the past 67 months. I sincerely apologise for the inability to continue serving and for all the shortcomings during my service. Be happy and worthy,” he wrote on his Instagram page jzarif_ir. The post included a drawing of Sayyeda Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet Mohammad.
He gave no specific reasons for his decision.
Sayyed Abbas Mousavi, spokesman at Foreign Ministry, confirmed to IRNA that Zarif has resigned.
President Hassan Rouhani is yet to confirm Zarif’s resignation.
Chief of Staff of the Iranian president, Mahmoud Vaezi, “vehemently” denied reports that Rouhani has accepted the resignation.
Zarif played the lead role in striking the deal between the Islamic Republic and world powers in 2015.
He famously took the stage alongside the European Union’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini to announce the agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in Brussels in February that year.
Source: Websites
