Iran’s Vice-President Mohammed Javad Zarif resigned just 11 days after taking office, citing dissatisfaction with his work and inability to meet expectations. Zarif’s resignation marks the second major crisis for President Massud Pezeshkian’s administration since he assumed office at the end of July. The first crisis was the killing of Palestinian Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
Zarif’s resignation followed his dissatisfaction with the selection of ministers for Pezeshkian’s cabinet. Zarif felt that several of the 19 nominated ministers were not his preferred choices and implied that the hardline conservative faction influenced the selections. Zarif had been instrumental in Pezeshkian’s presidential campaign and was expected to play a key role in implementing new foreign policies and resuming nuclear negotiations to lift economic sanctions on Iran.