TEHRAN: Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif urged Iranian diplomats on Tuesday not to resign en masse following his shock announcement he was quitting but to keep up their work defending Iran’s interests. The announcement on Instagram late on Monday by Zarif, the lead negotiator of Iran’s landmark 2015 nuclear deal with major powers, prompted reports that large numbers of diplomats were considering resigning too in a show of support. There was no immediate indication President President Hassan Rouhani had accepted the resignation and a petition urging him not to was signed by a majority of members of parliament, senior lawmakers said. According to Iran’s Entekhab news agency, Zarif’s resignation appears to be linked to a surprise visit by Syrian President Bashar Al Assad to Tehran on Monday. Zarif said his main concern throughout the negotiations for the nuclear deal had been about pressure from inside Iran.

Source: Pakistan Today February 26, 2019 16:30 UTC