Iran’s VP for strategy says he’s resigning from role just days after being appointed

Iran’s former foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who negotiated a landmark 2015 nuclear deal with major world powers, announces that he has resigned from his new post as the country’s vice president for strategic affairs.

“I resigned from the position of vice-president for strategic affairs last week,” Zarif says in a post on X, less than two weeks after the newly elected reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian chose him as one of his several deputies.

Zarif cites several reasons for his resignation, most notably his disappointment with the lineup in the newly proposed 19-member cabinet.

“I am ashamed that I could not implement, in a decent way, the expert opinion of the committees (responsible for selecting candidates) and achieve the inclusion of women, youth and ethnic groups, as I had promised,” he says.

Pezeshkian on Sunday presented his cabinet, which included one woman, to parliament for approval.

The proposed list drew criticism from some among Iran’s reformist camp, including over the inclusion of conservatives from the government of late president Ebrahim Raisi.

Zarif points out that he also faced pressure after his appointment as vice president because his children hold US citizenship.

“My message… is not a sign of regret or disappointment with dear Dr. Pezeshkian or opposition to realism; rather it means doubting my usefulness as a vice president for strategic affairs,” he says, noting he will return to academia and focus less on Iran’s domestic politics.