Zarif summoned to parliament for "sidelining" Assad's visit to Tehran

Fifteen members of parliament submitted a question to the parliament’s presidium about the Iranian foreign minister’s controversial resignation. They said Zarif’s resignation called into question the “achievement” of Assad’s visit to Iran. Rouhani rejected Zarif’s resignation after 30 hours.

Iranian media outlets have reported that a number of members of parliament are planning to drag Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to the country’s parliament over his controversial resignation. The members have accused Zarif of “sidelining” the “great achievement” of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s visit to Iran and “dealing a heavy blow to national interests.”

According to Mehr News Agency, 15 MPs have submitted a question to the Majlis Presidium regarding the coincidence of Zarif's resignation with the Syrian President's visit to Iran. Some domestic news agencies have identified the authors of the question as "representatives of the Stability Front."

These 15 representatives have asked the presidium of the parliament to “report” their “memorandums” and to read their summary in an open session of the parliament. In their “question” addressed to the Iranian foreign minister, it is stated: “At least you would have been prudent and attentive to national interests and not have overshadowed such an achievement related to Bashar al-Assad’s meeting with the Supreme Leader of the Revolution and the president by marginalizing him regarding the resignation.”

The text of this question claims that while Bashar al-Assad's meeting "as the axis of resistance" with Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic "as the leader of the resistance," and his meeting with the president of Iran, "sent the message of the victory of the resistance front and gratitude to Iran to the world," Mohammad Javad Zarif "has revealed his differences with the president at the worst possible time through indiscretion and strange behavior and has marginalized this great achievement."

Nighttime resignation "a heavy blow to national interests"

At the end of their question to the Iranian Foreign Minister, 15 members of parliament wrote: "Paying attention to the achievements related to the great victory of the Resistance Front could have resulted in, in addition to positive security and defense consequences, economic prosperity for the country and the defeat of sanctions, but your Excellency, as the head of the diplomatic apparatus, not only did not take advantage of it, but also dealt a heavy blow to national interests."

Mohammad Javad Zarif unexpectedly announced his resignation on Instagram on Monday night. His resignation coincided with meetings between Bashar al-Assad and Ali Khamenei and Hassan Rouhani, both of which were attended by Qassem Soleimani, commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force. The Iranian foreign minister, however, was not present at these meetings. Many analysts had considered Zarif’s absence from these meetings to be the main factor in his decision to step down as head of Iran’s diplomatic apparatus.

However, Hassan Rouhani rejected his foreign minister’s resignation about 30 hours later, calling it “against the country’s interests.” Qassem Soleimani, who was present at Assad’s meetings with the Iranian leader and president, also announced that Zarif’s absence was “not intentional.” Zarif then returned to his job, issuing a short message expressing hope that the Foreign Ministry would be able to “carry out all its responsibilities within the framework of the constitution, the country’s laws, and general policies with authority and firmness.”

Earlier, in response to the news of the protest resignation of a group of diplomats and managers of the Foreign Ministry, Mohammad Javad Zarif had asked them not to do such a thing and, on the other hand, expressed hope that his resignation would be "a stepping stone for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to return to its legal position in foreign relations."

Assad officially invites Zarif to visit Syria

After Zarif returned to the Foreign Ministry, it was announced that Bashar al-Assad had officially invited him to travel to Syria.

Iranian media reported yesterday that after a telephone conversation between the Iranian and Syrian foreign ministers, the Syrian ambassador to Tehran also called Mohammad Javad Zarif and announced the Syrian president's invitation to the Islamic Republic's foreign minister to visit Syria.

The resignation of the Iranian Foreign Minister overshadowed the news of Bashar al-Assad’s sudden visit to Tehran and quickly became the headlines of the world’s media. In his letter, Rouhani, while rejecting the resignation of his Foreign Minister, wrote that Zarif was still “trusted” by him, “the entire” of the Islamic Republic system, and “especially” the Leader of the Islamic Republic, and that he should “continue on his path.” The Iranian President added: “As I have repeatedly ordered, all agencies, whether governmental or non-governmental, must be in full coordination with this ministry in the field of foreign relations.”

The "Entikhab" website wrote last Tuesday that it had sent a text message asking the Iranian Foreign Minister the reason for his resignation, and Zarif had replied: "After the photos of today's meetings, Javad Zarif no longer has any credibility as Foreign Minister in the world." Some sources even claimed that Zarif was not aware of Assad's presence in Tehran.

Source: DW