Iraq News Now

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Hassan Rouhani, the embattled Iranian president, has issued a letter rejecting the resignation of his Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, saying it would be “against the interests of the country,” according to Iranian media.  

Zarif was prompted to resign after Quds Force General Qassem Soleimani went over the foreign ministry’s head to invite Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to Iran, three official sources close to Tehran’s foreign ministry told Rudaw Tuesday.

By inviting Assad without Zarif’s knowledge, Soleimani demonstrated just how much influence the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has over Iran’s foreign policy. Zarif, considering this the final straw, announced his resignation on Instagram just a few hours later.

Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif during a press conference in Tehran, February 13, 2019. File photo: Atta Kenare / AFP

Responding to Zarif’s concerns, Rouhani reassures his minister of the central role the foreign ministry plays in determining Iran’s foreign relations.

“The ministry of foreign affairs is responsible for foreign relations and contributes towards realizing the security and national interests,” Rouhani said in his letter.

“Therefore, as I have ordered on many occasions, all bodies, be they governmental or sovereign, must be in full coordination with this ministry in the context of foreign relations.”

“I am well aware of the pressures on the diplomatic body, the government and even the elected president. We will stay loyal to the pledge we have made with God and the people,” he added.

Facing his own calls from Iran’s hardliners to resign amid economic uncertainty and the resumption of US sanctions, Rouhani sought to communicate just how indispensable Zarif is to his administration.

“Given that I consider you in the words of the supreme leader as ‘trustworthy, gallant, brave, and pious’ and on the front line against the all-out American pressure, accepting your resignation is against the interest of the country and do not agree with it,” Rouhani said. 

Soleimani, who commands the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)’s extraterritorial Quds Force, also issued a statement appearing to reassure Zarif of his position.

“Mr Zarif is certainly the official in charge of the foreign relations of the Islamic Republic of Iran and during his time at the foreign relations ministry he has been and will be supported and backed by the senior official of the establishment, in particular the Supreme Leader” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Soleiman said, according to IRGC-affiliated Tasnim. 

Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ elite Quds Force. File photo: AP

He blamed Zarif’s absence from meetings with Syria’s Assad on poor coordination within the presidency, insisting there was no deliberate attempt to exclude him. 

“I emphasize that he as the minister of foreign affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran is the main official in the foreign policy arena of our country,” Soleimani added.

As a diplomat, Zarif had been widely seen as a voice of reason in the Iranian administration, at a time when Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) hardliners were taking a proactive role in outlining Iran’s positions on international relations – particularly regarding the US.

He played a key role in negotiating the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, pledging to halt its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

Zarif came under attack among hardliners when the US withdrew from the nuclear deal in May 2018 and reimposed sanctions targeting Iran's oil and financial sectors.

As a result, Iran's economy has suffered and its currency plummeted. 

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on February 17, Zarif berated the Trump administration’s erratic foreign policy decisions and demanded European signatories of the nuclear deal do more to help Iran weather the storm.

Last updated 10.59 p.m.