Iran’s vice president resigns after only eleven days in the job

– I am not satisfied with my work and am sorry that I have not been able to meet expectations, wrote the moderate politician in a post on X on Sunday evening.

The vice president suggested in the post that the ministerial selection of Pezeshkian’s new government was the reason for his resignation. At least 7 of the 19 ministers appointed were not his first choice, he said.

Zarif was Pezeshkian’s right-hand man throughout the election campaign and, as a result of his popularity, was important in securing the president’s election victory. After the election, Zarif and a group of experts were to put together a list of candidates for the government posts, who were scheduled to implement several promised reforms.

On Sunday, Pezeshkian presented a list that observers believed did not match the plans and promises of reform. They believe the president has been imposed on certain ministers by Iran’s arch-conservative faction.

Zarif was Iran’s top diplomat between 2013 and 2021. He led Iran in the nuclear negotiations in 2015 and received much of the credit for an agreement being reached with six world powers. The US later withdrew from the nuclear deal, which has since fallen into disrepair.