TEHRAN: Iran’s vice president for strategic affairs and head of the Center for Strategic Studies Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday announced his resignation from his new post.
A seasoned diplomat and former Foreign Minister, who negotiated a landmark 2015 nuclear deal with major world powers in a post said, “I resigned from the position of vice president for strategic affairs last week,” Zarif said in a post on X.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian appointed Zarif as vice president of strategic affairs and head of the Center for Strategic Studies on Thursday.
“I am ashamed that I could not implement, in a decent way, the expert opinion of the committees (responsible for selecting candidates) and achieve the inclusion of women, youth and ethnic groups, as I had promised,” he said.
Zarif added that he also faced pressure after his appointment as vice president because his children are US citizens.
“My message… is not a sign of regret or disappointment with dear Dr. Pezeshkian or opposition to realism; rather it means doubting my usefulness as a vice president for strategic affairs,” he said.
According to IRNA, Javad Zarif has emphasized that his post in cyberspace does not mean he is disappointed with the newly appointed Iranian president and that he asked for support for Masoud Pezeshkian.
Zarif, who was Iran’s top diplomat between 2013 and 2021 in the government of President Hassan Rouhani, led the lengthy negotiations for the 2015 accord formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
The deal was spoiled after three years when the then-president Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the deal and reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran.
