TEHRAN: Iranian Vice President Javad Zarif, who resigned Sunday night for the second time since his appointment in August last year, said on Monday that he took the decision on advice from the head of the country's judiciary to help relieve pressure on the administration of President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Zarif wrote in a post on X on Monday that he had visited Iranian Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei on an invitation by Mohseni Ejei on Saturday. During the meeting, he said, Ejei had advised that given "the conditions of the country, I return to (teaching at) the university to avoid more pressure on the administration."
Zarif said he took the advice immediately because he had always wanted to be "of help and not a burden".
He said he hoped that by leaving the administration, those hindering the realization of "the people's will and the success of the administration" would be stripped of excuses.
"I continue to be proud of having supported the venerable Dr. Pezeshkian and wish him and other true servants of the people the best, ” he said, the official news agency IRNA reported Monday.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who has received Zarif's resignation letter, is yet to respond on the matter.
"Since he was tapped as the Vice President, Zarif has been taking intense heat from a group of lawmakers in Parliament who have argued that his appointment to a sensitive post is illegal because at least one of his children holds US nationality. According to Iranian law, individuals who hold foreign citizenship or whose immediate family members hold such citizenship cannot be assigned to sensitive posts in the Iranian government, " IRNA reported.
Iran's Fars news agency reported that a number of Iranian lawmakers had been following up on his "illegal" appointment to the post since the beginning of the administration's term.
Pezeshkian appointed Zarif, a former foreign minister, as Vice President for strategic affairs and head of the Centre for Strategic Studies, in August 2024.
However, Zarif resigned 10 days after his appointment because he was "not satisfied with the result of his work" as head of the steering council that selected the new Iranian administration's cabinet members.
He later withdrew his resignation after Pezeshkian's "prudent" follow-ups and consultations.