A senior Revolutionary Guards commander said on Wednesday Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was the main person in charge of Iranian foreign policy and he was supported by the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Zarif tendered his resignation two days ago but President Hassan Rouhani has not accepted it yet.
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Although Zarif gave no specific reasons for his surprise resignation, Iranian media reports indicated he resigned over not being invited to a meeting between Rouhani and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Tehran on Monday.
Assad made his first public visit to Iran since the start of Syria’s war in 2011, and also met Khamenei.
Soleimani, who was present at both meetings, said Zarif’s absence was the result of a bureaucratic mistake.
"Signs show there has been no intention to exclude
Zarif - a U.S.-educated veteran diplomat - helped craft a pact with world powers in 2015 that curbed Iran's nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief.
He has been under pressure from Iranian hardliners since