Mohammad Javad Zarif, advisor to Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian and Vice President for Strategic Affairs, at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Jan. 22, 2025.(Credit: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP)
Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s former foreign minister and chief negotiator of the 2015 nuclear deal, has submitted his resignation as an adviser to President Massoud Pezeshkian, though it has not yet been accepted, the official Irna agency reported.
"Mr. Zarif's resignation letter was received by President Massoud Pezeshkian, who has not yet responded," Irna said late Sunday, without specifying the reason for his resignation.
Zarif, a key political figure in Iran, had already resigned from the same advisory role in August but rejoined the government days later. At the time, he cited pressure over his children's American nationality.
"In the past six months, I have faced the most horrible insults, slanders, and threats against me and my family, and I have gone through the bitterest period of my 40 years of service," Zarif wrote Monday on X. "To avoid further pressure on the government, the head of the judiciary recommended that I resign, and I immediately accepted," he added.
Architect of the nuclear deal
A diplomat with ties to reformists but no official political affiliation, Zarif served as Iran’s foreign minister from 2013 to 2021 under President Hassan Rouhani. He was the lead Iranian negotiator in the 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers, including the United States. The deal, now largely defunct following Washington’s unilateral withdrawal in 2018, had lifted sanctions on Iran in exchange for limits on its nuclear activities.
Pezeshkian, who took office in July, named Zarif as his vice president for strategic affairs on Aug. 1 but Zarif resigned after less than two weeks, before returning to the post later in the month.
His resignation comes a day after Parliament dismissed the economy minister in a censure vote, amid a sharp depreciation of Iran’s currency and soaring inflation squeezing households.