Jumblat Says Resigned Zarif ‘Victim' of Compromise Theory

Progressive Socialist Party leader ex-MP Walid Jumblat on Tuesday commented on the surprise resignation of Iran’s foreign minister saying "Iranian diplomacy will lose its most prominent symbols.”

“Iranian diplomacy is going to lose its most prominent symbols, Mohammed Javad Zarif, who was the lead negotiator of the (2015) nuclear agreement between Iran and the West,” said Jumblat on Twitter.

The PSP leader added that Zarif “is the victim of hardliners in the Islamic Republic who mainly oppose the principle of settlement and control decisions, and the hawks in the United States and Israel who reject the principle of settlement.”

On Monday, Zarif has abruptly tendered his resignation on Instagram, although there was no sign President Hassan Rouhani had yet accepted his decision.

Zarif offered an apology for his "shortcomings" in the unexpected message on Monday, with prominent members of parliament immediately calling for Rouhani not to accept the resignation.

Zarif, 59, has served as Rouhani's foreign minister since August 2013 and has been under constant pressure and criticism by hardliners who opposed his policy of detente with the West.