Iran's Rouhani rejects FM's resignation letter

By Muhammet Kursun </p> <p>TEHRAN (AA) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday rejected a resignation letter tendered by his foreign minister, Javad Zarif.</p> <p>In a subsequent statement, Foreign Ministry spokesman Behram Qasimi said that none of the explanations offered for the FM’s attempted resignation — except for Zarif's — were factual. </p> <p>In a statement released earlier Tuesday, Mahmoud Vaezi, director of the Iranian Presidency’s office, said Rouhani had wanted Zarif to maintain the post.</p> <p>“In [President] Rouhani’s opinion, Iran has only one foreign policy and one foreign minister,” Vaezi said. </p> <p>Zarif, for his part, told reporters earlier Tuesday that his planned resignation was aimed at “maintaining the credibility” of his ministry.</p> <p>“The ministry’s reputation is tied to national security,” he asserted. “The resignation was meant to preserve the ministry’s credibility on the international stage.” </p> <p>A number of Iranian MPs have since signed a petition urging Zarif to remain at the post, Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency has reported.</p> <p>Other local media reports, meanwhile, have attributed Zarif’s attempted resignation to Monday’s visit to Tehran by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. </p> <p>Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.</p> <p>This was followed by eight years of conflict between the regime and armed opposition groups during which Iran has consistently supported the former.