Iran's Javad Zarif returns as Vice President after resigning over cabinet line-up

The former foreign minister had resigned from his position on August 11

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, right, and Mohammad Javad Zarif, who is now Vice President for Strategic Affairs. AFP

Iran's former foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Tuesday announced he was returning to his post as Vice President for Strategic Affairs after submitting his resignation this month over disappointment with President Masoud Pezeshkian's line-up for the government.

Mr Zarif was appointed on August 1 but resigned about two weeks later after the names of ministerial nominees were submitted. He had been under the impression he was in charge of forming committees to choose the new ministers for Mr Pezeshkian's government.

Iran's Parliament last week approved all 19 nominees, marking the first time in decades that the legislature has endorsed all ministers proposed by a president.

"After careful follow-ups and consultations of the honourable President and with his written order, I will continue to perform my duties as the strategic deputy of the President," Mr Zarif said in a post on X.

Mr Zarif's announcement came after he attended a meeting between Mr Pezeshkian's newly formed government and the country's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

He also praised the new Cabinet in his post, adding that the majority of the ministers "were the result of the expert suggestions of this transparent and participatory process".

Mr Pezeshkian's Cabinet line-up had drawn criticism from some reformists, particularly over the inclusion of conservatives from his predecessor Ebrahim Raisi's government. Others criticised the absence of ethnic and religious minorities and lack of women.

He had also implied Iran would improve its relations with the West and return to the nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which the US unilaterally pulled out of in 2018 under former president Donald Trump.

Mr Zarif was minister in 2015 when the nuclear agreement was signed and observers expect him to play a role in any future attempts to revive negotiations.

Among the new ministers in the Iranian Cabinet is Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, another former nuclear negotiator. Conservatives had initially criticised Mr Pezeshkian for including Mr Zarif, who is seen by some as a pro-western figure.

The President, who ran as a reformist candidate with the support of Mr Zarif, won Iran's run-off presidential vote on July 5 after snap elections were called to replace former president Ebrahim Raisi who died in a helicopter crash in May.