From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Iran’s foreign minister hopes resignation empowers diplomats
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s foreign minister says he hopes his sudden resignation will strengthen the position of his fellow diplomats, hinting at a dispute with the security apparatus and hard-liners over the conduct of the country’s foreign policy.
Mohammed Javad Zarif’s resignation sent shockwaves through Iran, where tensions are already running high over America’s withdrawal last year from the nuclear deal he helped negotiate alongside Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani.
The Tehran stock market dropped 1,927 points Tuesday, down some 1.16 percent. The Iranian rial, which has rapidly depreciated amid uncertainty over the deal’s future, stood around 135,600 rials to $1. It had been 32,000 to the dollar at the time of the deal.
The state-run IRNA news agency says Zarif told colleagues his resignation would aid in “restoring the ministry to its legal position in foreign relations.”
The remark appears aimed at other bodies within Iran’s government. Zarif was not present for a meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad yesterday. Assad was warmly received by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as well as Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of an elite unit of the Revolutionary Guard.
— AP
The Times of Israel Community.