Iran FM Zarif withdraws resignation after Rouhani rejects it

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif withdrew his resignation yesterday after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani rejected it saying it is “against national interests”.

Zarif is reported to have resigned after he was excluded from a reception organised for Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad on Monday.

“As the Supreme Leader has described you as a ‘trustworthy, brave and religious’ person in the forefront of resistance against widespread US pressures, I consider accepting your resignation against national interests and reject it,” Rouhani said.

Commander of the elite Quds Force, Qasem Soleimani, also praised Zarif saying “he enjoys the support of the Islamic Republic’s senior officials, especially the leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.”

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The Fars news agency said Soleimani apologised to Zarif for not including him Al-Assad’s reception on Monday, stressing that this was the result of “a bureaucratic error” and that Zarif is the main official in charge of the country’s foreign policy.

In response, Zarif thanked the Iranian officials and people for their support after his resignation, saying “he has always been committed to serving the country”.

“As a humble servant, I have only cared about the foreign policy and the status of the foreign ministry,” he wrote on Instagram.