Zarif is in charge of Iran's foreign policy, says head Quds forces https://t.co/KdePg510X0
— Reuters Iran (@ReutersIran) 2019年2月27日
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani rejected the resignation of Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Wednesday, standing by a moderate ally long targeted by hardliners in internal factional struggles over a 2015 nuclear deal with the West.
Zarif - a U.S.-educated veteran diplomat who helped craft the pact that curbed Iran’s nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief - announced his resignation on Instagram on Monday.
“As the Supreme Leader has described you as a ‘trustworthy, brave and religious’ person in the forefront of resistance against widespread U.S. pressures, I consider accepting your resignation against national interests and reject it,” Rouhani said in a letter published on state news agency IRNA.
In another show of confidence, senior Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani said Zarif was the main person in charge of Iranian foreign policy and he was supported by the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
On Wednesday, Zarif thanked Iranians for their support. “As a modest servant I have never had any concern but elevating the foreign policy and the status of the foreign ministry,” he added in an Instagram post.
After Rouhani’s announcement, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported that Zarif had attended a ceremony to welcome Armenia’s prime minister to Tehran.
Zarif gave no specific reasons for his resignation.
But his move thrust the schism between Iran’s hardliners and moderates into the open, effectively challenging Khamenei to pick a side.
The schism between hardliners and moderates over the nuclear deal shows the tension in Iran between the two factions, and between the elected government which runs the country on a day-to-day basis and a clerical establishment with ultimate power.
An ally of Zarif told Reuters his resignation was motivated by criticism of the nuclear accord, under increasingly intense fire in Iran since the United States abandoned it last year.
Since the United States walked out of the nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions, Rouhani has had to explain why Iran has continued to abide by its restrictions while reaping virtually none of the foreseen economic benefits.
Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh, a moderate, on Wednesday denied reports by a hardline lawmaker that he had also resigned, the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) reported.
イランのザリフ外相の辞任表明、ロウハニ大統領は受け入れ拒否 https://t.co/yqW5ebJ5z6 pic.twitter.com/uXKVWEY7Ok
— Reuters Jp World (@ReutersJpWorld) 2019年2月27日
ザリフ外相は２５日、自身のインスタグラムを介して、辞任する意向を明らかにした。ザリフ氏は２０１５年の欧米など６カ国との核合意で重要な役割を発揮。しかし米政府が昨年、核合意から離脱しイランへの制裁を再開する中、国内の反西側強硬派からの批判が強まっていた。
ザリフ氏は辞任の具体的な理由については触れなかった。
ロウハニ大統領は書簡で「最高指導者があなた（ザリフ外相）について、米国による圧力に第一線で抵抗する『信頼でき、勇敢で、信仰心にあつい』人物だと表現していることを踏まえると、あなたの辞意を受け入れることは国益に反すると考える。よって拒否する」としている。
イラン革命防衛隊のソレイマニ司令官もザリフ氏について、イランの外交政策を担う主要な人物とした上で、イランの最高指導者ハメネイ師の支持を受けていると語った。
イラン外相が辞意表明 欧米との核合意担う 理由は不明
