A majority of Iranian lawmakers have signed a letter to President Hassan Rouhani, calling on him not to accept Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's resignation. Read more.
A majority of Iranian lawmakers have signed a letter to President Hassan Rouhani, calling on him not to accept Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's resignation.
Ali Najafi Khoshroudi, spokesman for the Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, told IRNA on Tuesday that he was collecting signatures from lawmakers.
He noted that about 160 parliamentarians had already signed the letter, asking for Minister Zarif to be kept in office.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh said the body was set to convene an extraordinary session on Tuesday to address Zarif's resignation, according to Mehr news agency.
President Rouhani has not formally accepted the resignation.
Addressing the 58th annual meeting of the general assembly of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) on Tuesday, Rouhani said Zarif – along with Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zanganeh and Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati – was at the frontline of the battle against America, without mentioning the top diplomat's resignation.
The Iranian chief executive thanked the three officials for the efficient roles they had played in confronting Washington under the sanctions.
"In the view of Dr. Rouhani, the Islamic Republic of Iran has only one foreign policy and one foreign minister," Vaezi wrote in an Instagram post that included a picture of Rouhani and Zarif together.
"I require that all [my] dear brothers and sisters in the Foreign Ministry and representative offices continue to fulfill their duties in defense of the country with strength," Zarif said on Tuesday.
The 59-year-old diplomat started serving as the Islamic Republic's foreign minister when Rouhani took office in 2013.
The foreign minister's discourse has notably featured rejection of Iranophobia and promoted international interaction.