Zarif resigns as Iran's Vice President

Iran's Mohammad Javad Zarif, recently appointed vice president for strategic affairs, resigned from his position just hours after ministerial nominees were submitted to parliament for approval.

In a lengthy social media post, Zarif announced that the nominees to serve in the government of recently elected President Masoud Pezeshkian had been submitted for a vote of confidence and that he would now return to his university duties.

Zarif has been teaching at the University of Tehran's Department of World Studies since 2021, following his eight-year tenure as the country's foreign minister under former President Hassan Rouhani.

After actively campaigning for Pezeshkian ahead of a recent snap election, the veteran diplomat had hinted that he would not be part of the new government.

However, on Augugust 1, Zarif was unexpectedly named vice president for strategic affairs, a position that does not require parliamentary approval.

However, he hastened to add that he was not satisfied with the "outcome of the work." 

“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,” Zarif said.

Zarif noted that this marks the end of his involvement in domestic politics and that he would be returning to the world of academia.