Growing Calls in Iran Asking Zarif to Draw Back from Resignation
TEHRAN (Basirat) : More than 150 Iranian lawmakers asked President Hassan Rouhani to turn down Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif’s resignation, while the president's chief of staff has rejected reports that the president has accepted the top diplomat’s resignation.
In comments on Tuesday morning, rapporteur of the Parliament’s National Security
and Foreign Policy Commission said a group of lawmakers have sent a letter to
President Hassan Rouhani to voice support for Foreign Minister Zarif.
The letter, signed by 150 parliamentarians, has asked the president to turn down
Zarif’s resignation and encourage him to remain in his post.
Last night, Foreign Minister Zarif announced his resignation from the cabinet in
a post on his Instagram account.
"Many thanks for the generosity of the dear and brave people of Iran and its
authorities over the past 67 months. I sincerely apologize for the inability to
continue serving and for all the shortcomings during my service. Be happy and
worthy,” Zarif wrote on his Instagram page on Monday night.
Meanwhile, the Iranian president's chief of staff, Mahmoud Vaezi, has rejected
media reports that the president has accepted Zarif’s resignation.
"The reports that the president has accepted Dr. Zarif’s resignation are
strongly rejected,” Vaezi said in a post on his Twitter account.
Also, Chairman of the Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy
Commission Heshmatollah Falahat Pishe told the Tasnim News Agency, "We are still
unaware whether or not the president has accepted Mr. Zarif’s resignation.”
Source:Tasnim