Parliament Representative: Multiple Travels and Parallel Negotiations are Reasons for Zarif's Resignation

The Deputy Chairman of the Independent Faction of Parliament stated that ignorance of Bashar al-Assad's visit to Tehran played a role in Mr. Zarif's resignation, but it is not the only reason. Gholamali Jafarzadeh, in an interview with Etemad Online, mentioned that parallel actions, including 'dozens of trips and negotiations without coordination,' are reasons for this resignation. He noted that Mr. Zarif's resignation might have been more justified for the President since he was also absent from the meeting. In the meeting between the Syrian President and the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was not present. Furthermore, neither Mohammad Javad Zarif nor other officials from the Iranian Foreign Ministry were present in the photos released from the meeting between Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian President, and Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader, and Hassan Rouhani on Monday. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was present at these meetings. On Monday evening, the website Entekhab reported that Mr. Zarif, in response to a question from the website, stated: 'After the photos of today's meetings, Javad Zarif no longer has credibility as Foreign Minister in the world.' Jafarzadeh also referred to the trip of Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council to Afghanistan, and Ali Akbar Velayati, the international advisor to the Supreme Leader, to Melbourne, stating that 'dozens of trips and negotiations without Zarif's coordination have taken place.' He did not mention the timing of Mr. Velayati's trip to Melbourne, and no reports about this trip have been published in Iranian media. Ali Shamkhani visited Kabul in January and informed his Afghan counterpart that Iran has ongoing negotiations with the Taliban, which are conducted with the knowledge of the Afghan government. Jafarzadeh also mentioned that Mohammad Javad Zarif had previously resigned five times. Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, attributed the main reason for the Foreign Minister's resignation to 'the interference of irresponsible entities in foreign policy.' However, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry deemed any interpretation and analysis of the reasons for this resignation, other than what Mr. Zarif wrote on his Instagram page, as 'incorrect and devoid of any truth.' Bahram Qasemi also described the published text regarding this resignation as 'manipulated and incomplete.' The website Rahdana, which published this text, also announced that parts of this letter were 'deleted for national interests.' According to the text published on this website, Mr. Zarif stated that the reason for his resignation was 'the release of photos' of the meeting between the Syrian President and the Iranian President. The Chief of Staff of the President and the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced that Hassan Rouhani did not agree to Mohammad Javad Zarif's resignation. According to reports from the Entekhab website, Eshaq Jahangiri, the First Vice President, had a phone conversation with Mr. Zarif about his resignation on Tuesday. The news website Emtehad, close to reformists, reported, citing an 'informed source,' that Ayatollah Khamenei opposed Mohammad Javad Zarif's resignation. This news website quoted this unnamed informed source as saying, 'A high-ranking official of the system, in a brief letter addressed to Zarif, deemed his resignation not in the country's interest.' In Iranian media terminology, 'a high-ranking official of the system' refers to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. The Supreme Leader has previously made contradictory statements about Mohammad Javad Zarif and Iran's nuclear negotiation team. On June 12, 2017, he described Mr. Zarif as a 'devout,' 'conscientious,' and 'responsible' individual. However, two months later, he criticized the performance of Iran's nuclear negotiation team, stating that some of the red lines set in the JCPOA were not adhered to. Hossein Shariatmadari, the representative of the Supreme Leader in the Kayhan newspaper, in a note in Wednesday's issue of the newspaper, called for Mr. Zarif to withdraw his resignation. Mr. Shariatmadari attributed the Foreign Minister's resignation to some of 'Mr. Rouhani's behaviors' and added that 'Mr. Zarif's resignation is not the solution, and these grievances should be resolved within the cabinet.' He urged Mr. Zarif to 'reconsider his decision to prevent malicious interpretations by external enemies and some of their internal followers and return to his previous position.' Despite reports about the Iranian President's opposition to Mr. Zarif's resignation, Hamid Rasai, a representative from Tehran in the ninth Parliament, tweeted that Mr. Zarif's resignation would certainly be accepted, and Mahmoud Vaezi, the head of Hassan Rouhani's office, would be introduced as the new Foreign Minister. He also called for the judiciary to 'prohibit Mr. Zarif from leaving the country and investigate his actions.' Mr. Rasai accused the Foreign Minister of being responsible for imposing 'shameful agreements including the JCPOA, FATF, CFT, and Palermo.' Some conservative newspapers, including Vatan-e-Emruz, also attacked Mr. Zarif, and some political activists from this faction called for Mr. Zarif to be tried for overshadowing Bashar al-Assad's visit to Tehran due to the announcement of his resignation. This visit has significant importance for the close associates of the Supreme Leader, and media close to the Revolutionary Guards referred to it as a 'victorious visit.'