US Secretary of State's reaction to Mohammad Javad Zarif's resignation
The announcement of the resignation of Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif has received widespread coverage in international media via social media. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was among the first to express his position on Zarif's resignation.
Mohammad Javad Zarif announced his resignation in an Instagram post. His resignation will only be formalized when it is officially accepted by Iranian President Rouhani. According to Mahmoud Vaezi, the head of the presidential office, Hassan Rouhani has refused to accept Zarif's resignation.
The news of Zarif's resignation has also been confirmed by the official media of the Islamic Republic of Iran, news that has received widespread coverage in international media and news agencies.
On Tuesday, February 26, in a report published from Washington, Agence France-Presse reflected the statements of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo regarding the news of Zarif's resignation.
Pompeo has called Mohammad Javad Zarif one of the "scarecrows of Iran's corrupt religious mafia" and said that the United States is following up on the matter.
The US Secretary of State wrote in a Twitter post that Zarif and Hassan Rouhani are scarecrows in the hands of the corrupt religious mafia ruling Iran.
Pompeo wrote in this Twitter post: "We know that the final decisions rest with Khamenei. Our policy towards Iran will not change. The Iranian regime should behave like any other normal country and respect its own people."
The US State Department's Persian website also followed up on Pompeo's tweet with a tweet about Zarif's resignation. The language used in this tweet is similar to that of Mike Pompeo, referring to the "corrupt religious mafia" and that all decisions are made by Khamenei.
Increasing pressure on Zarif
Politicians from other countries have not yet reacted to Zarif's resignation. It seems that at such a moment, all eyes are on the Iranian government, Rouhani's position, and Khamenei's decision.
Like a number of other news agencies, the AFP has pointed to the phenomenon of increasing pressure on Mohammad Javad Zarif from conservative forces in Iran and has assessed it as the reason for his decision to step down.
The news agency's report states that the US withdrawal from the JCPOA has increased pressure from extremist forces on the Rouhani government and its Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif.
The news agency further wrote that conservative and hardline forces in Iran consider the nuclear deal a bad deal and hold Zarif and the Rouhani government responsible for it. The AFP report states that conservative forces believe that
Source: DW
