Tehran, Iran – Mohammad Javad Zarif, strategic advisor in foreign policy of the Iranian president and a leading figure that pleads for interviews with the West, A again resigned In the middle of a fierce decline in the hard line opponents.
The former Minister of Foreign Affairs and the face of negotiations supported by reformists with global powers who led to the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement confirmed this decision in an online article early on Monday, saying that this comes after “the bitter era of my 40 -year service period”.
Remarkably, Zarif said that he had been “advised” by The head of judicial power Gholamossein Mohseni Ejei Resign and return to a university teaching position “to avoid new pressure on the government” in a tumultuous period for the country.
It was under pressure from the factions last to resign for months, on the basis of a law of 2022 which prohibits nationals of double citizenship or those who have members of the double-national family in the first degree of assuming a political post. The two children of Zarif are American citizens of natural origin.
Centrist president Masoud Pezeshkian has not yet reacted publicly to the news, although the state media reported that his office had resigned.
Mohseni Ejei met senior legal civil servants on Monday, but did not comment on Zarif’s resignation. In a video of Reunion, published by State Media, he only exhaust the judiciary to help the government manage the currency market.
The resignation of Zarif occurred a few hours after another first -rate figure in the centrist camp, Abdolnaser Hemmati, was dismissed as Minister of the Economy by Du legislators and conservative legislators who have dominated the Iranian parliament Over the past five years, via elections with low reversal.
Opponents painted the former head of the central bank and missing presidential candidate as a “dangerous” influence on the Iranian economy and accused it of having intentionally weakening the national currency in order to attract short -term liquidity to connect massive budgetary deficits.
Hemmati, who denied the accusations and said he was only fighting Multilayer currency system This has addressed corruption for many years, could not convince deputies that the dismissal barely six months in the new administration would negatively affect the Iranian economy in difficulty.
With New Year’s Nowruz celebrations that arrive in about two weeks, providing increased market and purchasing activity, inflation amounts to around 35% and the Iranian Rial fell free.
Is wary of more troubles than They blame foreign “enemies”In particular the United States and Israel, Iranian officials have expressed concern about the potential of social disorders that could undermine the establishment.
No discussions with the United States
On Sunday, in another remarkable commentary, the president underlined the framework in which he and the Iranian government operate.
“I personally thought it would be better to speak. But the supreme chief said we are not negotiating with America. So I announced that we will not negotiate with America, this is the end of this, “Pezeshkian told legislators during a television session in Parliament.
The centrist president was elected during a runoff in early July This was avoided by half of the eligible Iranian voters. Zarif was an integral part of his elections, calling on the Iranians several times to vote for better conditions.
Pezeshkian managed to defeat the ultra-conservative candidate Saeed Jalili that after having built his campaign around a central promise to work to end severe sanctions by the United States and the European Union which has struck the Iranian economy for years.
But after US President Donald Trump – who unilaterally reinforced the Iranian nuclear agreement in 2018 – underlined his “Maximum pressure” policy Against Iran after his re -election in 2024, the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said there will be no discussions with Washington.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Arabhchi, a long -standing ally of Zarif and another key figure behind the nuclear agreement, was Warning of a total war If the United States and Israel are their threats to bomb Iranian nuclear and energy facilities.
Abdolrahim Mousavi, commander -in -chief of the Iranian army, said on Monday on state television that the country’s armed forces were not looking for war, but “we will certainly defend Iran if a war is launched”.
The Iranian army and the body of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard of the Elite Force (IRGC) organized months of large-scale military exercises, presenting air defense systems, ballistic missiles, suicide drones and anti-sous-marine projectiles, among others.
What is it said in the world?
The avoidance of two eminent personalities of reformist spirit in the Iranian government is likely to point out to the West that Tehran will only harden his position after having undergone more external pressure.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told journalists on Monday at a press conference that international stakeholders “will certainly have their own views” on the issue, but he would not speculate.
This week’s developments accelerate the challenges for the coming months, as a large sunset clause of the Comatous Iranian nuclear agreement is due in October.
The E3, the three European powers which are still part of the nuclear agreement, will only have October to activate the “Snapback” mechanism of the historical agreement, which could theoretically restore all the United Nations sanctions against Iran.
Iran has held two cycles of “consultations” with the European powers to reach a better understanding, and a third has been on the agenda for months.
But even if Iran’s nuclear program continues to develop considerably, China and Russia have remained opposed to this level of political climbing, arguing that the United States is responsible for leaving the agreement without offering it any alternative. Tehran maintains that his nuclear program is peaceful.
Baghaei, the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, confirmed that Russia and the United States had discussed the Iranian nuclear program during their last contacts. These talks preceded the Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov Visit Tehran last week And meet the president.
“What matters is that whatever happens about the Iranian nuclear problem, this will certainly not happen without comments or approval from Iran,” he told the press conference in Tehran.