Tehran, Iran – Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian president’s strategic foreign policy advisor and a prominent defender of consultations with the West, has resigned once again amid a fierce push from his hard-hit opponent.
The face of negotiations backed by former foreign ministers and reformers with the global authority that led to Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal, confirmed the move in an online post early Monday, saying it came after “the bitterest period of my 40-year service period.”
Surprisingly, Zarif said Attorney General Golamassain Moseni Ejay had resigned and had been “advised” to return to university education work “to prevent further pressure on the government” during the country’s turbulent period.
He was under pressure from the Hardline faction to resign for several months. This was based on a 2022 law banning double citizenship by citizens and prohibiting people with first-class families of double citizens from assuming political offices. Zarif’s two children are naturally born American citizens.
While Centist President Masuud Pezeskian has not yet responded publicly to the news, state media reported that his office had resigned.
Mohseni Ejei met with a senior judicial officer on Monday, but did not comment on Zarif’s resignation. In a video of the conference released by state media, he urged the judicial body to help the government manage the currency market.
Zarif’s resignation comes hours after another prominent figure in the centralized camp, Abdulnaser Hemati, was blasted as an economic minister by conservative lawmakers who have controlled the forced elections that have been in control of Iran’s parliament for the past five years.
Opponents portrayed the former central bank chief, accusing the presidential candidate of failing as a “dangerous” impact on the Iranian economy and deliberately weakening the domestic currency to attract short-term liquidity to plug in a massive budget deficit.
Hemati, who denied the charges and said he was only fighting the multi-layered foreign currency system that has been causing corruption for years, could not convince the MPS that looting him just six months later would have a negative impact on the sick Iranian economy.
Nowruz’s New Year celebration arrived in about two weeks, bringing a rise in markets and shopping activities, with inflation rates of around 35%, and the Iranian rial is free to silence.
They blame foreign “enemies” and especially the US and Israel, are more wary of anxiety. Iranian officials have expressed concern about the possibility of more social anxiety that could undermine its establishment.
There is no discussion with the US
In another surprising comment on Sunday, the president pointed to the framework in which he and the Iranian government operate.
“Personally, I believed it would be better to have consultations. But the Supreme Leader said we wouldn’t negotiate with the United States. So we also announced that we wouldn’t negotiate with the United States. That’s the end,” Pezeschkian told lawmakers in Congress.
The centristic president was elected by a run-off vote in early July. Zarif is crucial to his election and repeatedly called on Iranians to vote on better terms.
Pezeshkian managed to defeat the ultra-conservative candidate, Saeed Jalili, only after building a campaign over a central promise to work to end the harsh sanctions by the US and the European Union, which have been stricken by the Iranian economy for years.
However, after President Donald Trump, who unilaterally reeled Iran’s nuclear deal in 2018, and after highlighting his “maximum pressure” policy on Iran after reelection in 2024, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei insisted that he would not meet with Washington.
Longtime Zarif ally and another key figure in the nuclear deal, Foreign Minister Abbas Araguchi warns of all-out war if the US and Israel are doing good about the threat of bombing Iran’s nuclear and energy facilities.
Iranian military commander Abdulrahim Musavi told the state television on Monday that the country’s troops are not seeking war, but “if the war begins, we will certainly be strong in protecting Iran.”
Iran’s Army and Elite Forces Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) has been holding a large-scale military exercise for several months showing air defense systems, ballistic missiles, suicide drones, anti-submarine projectiles and more.
What does this tell the world?
The expulsion of two prominent reformist oriented figures in the Iranian government is likely to inform the West that Tehran will only strengthen its stance after suffering from more external pressure.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghhai told reporters at a press conference on Monday that international stakeholders would not assume that “certainly have their own perspective” on the issue.
This week’s development will increase stakes for the next few months. The main sunset clause of the coma Iran nuclear agreement is scheduled for October.
Three European powers, still part of the nuclear deal, could theoretically revive all UN sanctions on Iran until October, solely to activate the “snapback” mechanism of the landmark agreement.
Iran has held two rounds of “consultations” with European powers to reach a better understanding, with a third on the agenda for several months.
But despite the continued expansion of Iran’s nuclear programme, China and Russia continue to oppose that level of political escalation, claiming that the US is responsible for leaving the deal without offering anything to replace it. Tehran argues that the nuclear program is peace.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Baghey confirmed that Russia and the US had discussed Iran’s nuclear program during their latest contact. These talks preceded Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who visited Tehran last week and met the president.
“The key is that no matter what happens regarding Iran’s nuclear issue, it certainly won’t happen without comment or approval from Iran,” he told a news conference in Tehran.
