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2.3 Iran’s foreign minister Zarif returns to work after resignation rejected: reports
Two days after announcing on social media that he had submitted a request to resign, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has returned to work, Iranian state news agency Press TV reported on February 27.
The nation's top diplomat resumed his duties after Iran's President Hassan Rouhani rejected the resignation, saying it would be "against the country's national interests", the semi-official Mehr news agency reported.
Zarif reportedly thanked the Iranian nation and government officials for their backing in the wake of his announcement.
"As a modest servant, I have had no concern other than elevating [our] foreign policy and the credibility of the Foreign Ministry as the person in charge of advancing foreign policy and protecting national interests and people's rights in the international arena," Zarif wrote, according to Press TV.
After Zarif offered his resignation, reformists in Iran mounted a rearguard action to keep him as foreign minister, fearing that the loss of centrist, pragmatic politician from the world stage would play into the hands of hardliners at home and US hawks. Some observers see Zarif as having gone through the resignation move in order to strengthen the non-hardline power base in the foreign ministry.
2.4 Iran summons Pakistan ambassador over terrorist attack in southeast
Iran has summoned the Pakistani ambassador to Tehran over a deadly terrorist incident near the city of Zahedan in Sistan and Baluchistan province, Mehr News Agency reported on February 17.
The suicide bomb attack on the road outside Zahedan on February 13 killed at least 27 Revolutionary Islamic Guards Corps. (IRGC), and shocked Iran, which was quick to point the finger at the US and its allies who were holding a US-led conference on the Middle East taking place in Warsaw , Poland.
Riffat Masood, Islamabad’s representative to Tehran, was summoned to the foreign ministry in downtown Tehran to answer about his country’s lax attitude in allowing terrorist groups to operate in its Baluchistan region over the border.
“During this meeting, the increase in terrorist moves from inside Pakistan, including the recent terrorist incident on Zahedan-Khash road, was mentioned and our country’s complaint was announced. It was clearly stressed that the Islamic Republic of Iran expects the Pakistani government and army to take serious actions against the terrorist groups’ headquarters in border areas with Iran,” foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said following the meeting between the two.
The Sunni Muslim militant group, Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice), which is linked to al-Qaida, has claimed that it was behind the bombing.
8 IRAN Country Report March 2019 www.intellinews.com