Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (pictured) announced on his Instagram profile on Monday that he will step down from his post. Zarif's resignation comes just hours after it was reported that he wasn't present at today's meetings between Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and Iran's top officials.
"Thank you very much to the dear and honorable people of Iran over the past 67 months. I sincerely apologize for the incapacity to continue serving and all the shortcomings during the service. I thank the Iranian nation and officials," Zarif stated in an Instagram post.
Zarif has served as the Islamic Republic's top diplomat since August 2013, when he took over from Ali Akbar Salehi, the current head of Atomic Organization of Iran. Zarif was one of the key figures in the negotiations that produced the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as he led Iran's talks with the P5+1 countries. Zarif also served as the Permanent Representative of Iran to the United Nations from 2002 to 2007.
