(JTA) — Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif returned to work two days after submitting his resignation to President Hassan Rouhani reportedly over infighting about Iran’s foreign policy and its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers detested by Israel.
Rouhani rejected the resignation.
Zarif submitted his resignation late Monday evening being excluded from meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad who visited Tehran and met with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and then Rouhani.
The U.S.-educated Zarif has served as foreign minister since August 2013 and faced criticism from hardliners in his country over his attempts to establish better relations with the West. Zarif was a major player in negotiating the nuclear deal with the United States and other world powers trading sanctions relief for Iran in exchange for easing its nuclear weapons ambitions. The Trump administration pulled out of the agreement, which appears to be collapsing.
It is not clear that he will be more respected in his position now that he has returned.
