Iran foreign minister announces resignation on Instagram

Tehran, Feb 26: Dramatic resignation by top ministers is not something unusual. Given the dynamism of the discipline called politics, its practitioners know very well that the pulse of the followers can be best touched through gestures that are dramatic.

However, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif perhaps startled people the most by drastically announcing his resignation in an Instagram post.

In the post he published late on Monday, February 25, Zarif said: "I am grateful for magnanimity of the dear and courageous people of Iran and the respectable authorities' over the past 67 months."

"I sincerely apologize for inability to continue [my] service and all the shortcomings and flaws during [my] tenure. May you be happy and proud."

Iran's state-run IRNA news agency confirmed the resignation tendered by the 59-year-old leader who was in the office since August 2013, citing a government spokesperson. There was, however, no clarity on what prompted the foreign minister to step down and whether Iranian President Hassan Rouhani would accept it.

On Sunday, February 24, Zarif lashed out at the country's hardliners in a speech he delivered in Tehran, saying the country could not "hide behind imperialism's plot and blame them for our own incapability".

He said independence did not mean getting isolated from the world.

Zarif played a key role in the negotiations that led to the conclusion of a nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers in 2015. The US pulled out of the deal in May last year.