Why did Pezeshkian reveal his disagreement with Khamenei on US talks?

His departure came less than four weeks after Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei reaffirmed his opposition to negotiations with the United States, a stance that undermined Zarif’s role in the government.

Zarif announced his resignation on Sunday, saying that the powerful Judiciary had asked him to return to teaching at the university, ostensibly because his children hold US citizenship.

Several conservative lawmakers seized the moment to push for further resignations. Tehran MP Amirhossein Sabati said, "There are several other officials in the government who must either revoke their children’s dual nationality or be removed from their positions."

Hardliners like Sabeti cite a law that bans individuals with dual citizenship or close relatives with dual citizenship from holding sensitive positions as the basis for the action.

Zarif's children were automatically granted US citizenship at birth in New York while he spent much of his career with the Iranian delegation at the United Nations.

Although they now reside in Iran, the Law on the Appointment of Individuals to Sensitive Positions, enacted in October 2022, bans Zarif from holding his position as vice president for strategic affairs.

Hardliner MP Hamid Rasaei dismissed the notion that Zarif had voluntarily resigned, saying, "Someone whose presence is legally null and void cannot resign. Rather, after being formally charged, they should be dismissed from the position they unlawfully occupied."

Zarif’s allies and reformist figures have framed his resignation as a significant loss. Hesamoddin Ashna, an advisor to former President Hassan Rouhani, suggested that Zarif had been forced out. Others, including Hassan Younesi, said his departure would be welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Early Monday, Zarif posted on X that he had been invited to a meeting with judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, who "recommended that I return to the university to prevent further pressure on the government. I immediately accepted."

Political analyst Mohsen Sazgara told Iran International TV that Zarif was no longer useful to the government after Khamenei banned negotiations with the US. "Khamenei put figures like Hemmati and Zarif to be grilled by the hardliners, and there is a chance some other ministers might be impeached," he said.

Reformist commentators have warned that Zarif’s resignation, coming shortly after the impeachment of Economy Minister Abdolnaser Hemmati, signals growing instability within Pezeshkian’s administration.

Abbas Abdi told Khabar Online that official positions on potential US negotiations had "closed off possibilities, forcing Pezeshkian to confront harsh realities that he had not anticipated."

The relatively moderate Etemad newspaper reported that Hemmati’s impeachment may have been orchestrated outside parliament, suggesting that "internal parliamentary events had little influence" on the decision. In contrast, the conservative Kayhan newspaper welcomed Hemmati’s removal, calling it a necessary step for economic reform.

Iran’s parliament impeached Economy Minister Abdolnaser Hemmati on Sunday, bringing his tenure to an end after lawmakers blamed him for the country’s worsening economic crisis.

The vote followed a heated session in which Hemmati defended his record while critics pointed to the surging exchange rate and rising inflation.

Parliament voted 182 to 89 in favor of impeachment, with one abstention and one void ballot out of 273 total votes. Under Article 135 of Iran’s Constitution, ministers remain in office unless dismissed by the president or voted out by parliament.

"From a legal and diplomatic perspective, this serves as a wake-up call to consider whether international relations are reverting to the 19th century, where power, intimidation, and pressure dictated interactions between countries," Esmail Baghaei said during his weekly briefing.

He also spoke about a number of other issues, including the ouster of former foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as a top presidential aide and Russia's possible role in mediating between Tehran and the Trump administration.

The spokesman also contended that Iran has long rejected reliance on outside powers. “What matters for us and our region is that security must be self-sustained, with regional countries taking the lead in ensuring stability and security in West Asia and the Persian Gulf through their own efforts and cooperation.”

Following the Trump-Zelensky exchange, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s office reposted his 2022 remarks warning against reliance on the West.

Banners reflecting this message have also appeared across Tehran, featuring phrases such as “End of the mirage” and “Leaning on the wind.”

Tensions with Turkey addressed

Baghaei also addressed Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s recent remarks on Iran’s role in the region.

“We highly value our bilateral relations with Turkey,” he said, but added, “The remarks we have heard were unconstructive. Perhaps our Turkish friends should reflect more on the impact of their policies.”

Fidan recently told Al Jazeera that Iran’s costly efforts in Iraq and Syria have yielded little. He said he had conveyed this view to Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani before Soleimani’s 2020 killing in a US drone strike.

Zarif resignation

Responding to a question on whether Vice President Mohammad Javad Zarif’s resignation could be interpreted as a message to foreign parties, Baghaei said, "Surely, you do not expect me to comment on how others interpret the country’s internal developments?"

"Mr. Zarif has clearly expressed his own views in the message he issued."

Baghaei also confirmed that President Masoud Pezeshkian had received Zarif’s resignation letter.

Zarif, the architect of 2015 nuclear deal, said he stepped down after a meeting with Iran’s judiciary chief. “He advised me to return to the university to prevent further pressure on the government,” Zarif wrote on X.

Mediation efforts over US ties

In response to a question about whether Russia has offered to mediate between Iran and the United States, he said: "It is natural for countries to express their willingness to mediate Iran-US negotiations as an act of goodwill and assistance."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s visit to Tehran last month sparked speculation in Iranian media about whether he is carrying a message from Washington or pushing Moscow’s own agenda at Iran’s expense.

About the possibility of the UAE mediating between Iran and the US, Baghaei said: "Given the significance of this matter, many parties may express their willingness to facilitate discussions. From this perspective, it is natural for countries to consider offering assistance if needed."

"President Masoud Pezeshkian has received Javad Zarif's resignation letter but has not yet responded," the Iranian government's official news agency IRNA confirmed.

Zarif's resignation came after the Parliament ousted the Pezeshkian administration’s finance minister in a vote of no confidence, the IRGC-affiliated Fars News reported, citing two unnamed sources.

However, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported that the resignation was unrelated to the Parliament's impeachment of the finance minister and was submitted before the vote of no confidence.

"In his letter to the president, Zarif said that he prefers to serve Iran by teaching at a university," ISNA added.

Many observers believed that Zarif joined the Pezeshkian administration to help negotiate another nuclear deal with world powers similar to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was scrapped by Donald Trump during his first term in office.

However, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the country's ultimate decision-maker, rejected the idea of talks with Trump last month, calling them "neither wise, nor intelligent, nor honorable."

The Iranian president told parliament on Sunday that he initially supported negotiations with the United States but deferred to Khamenei’s position against engaging in talks.

“I believed it was better to engage in dialogue, but when the Leader said we would not negotiate with the US, I said, ‘We will not negotiate with the US, period,’” Masoud Pezeshkian said.

He added that government policy must align with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s stance on the issue.

Zarif is no stranger to resignations, treating them almost like brief intermissions—having submitted five during his tenure under former President Hassan Rouhani.

Last August, he resigned as Pezeshkian's aide, but his departure was short-lived, as he returned as vice president for strategic affairs within a couple of weeks.

In November, Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf joined hardliners in the parliament who had long been calling for Zarif's dismissal over his son's US citizenship.

Ghalibaf called on Zarif to resign voluntarily as he, too, believed that Zarif’s appointment to the post was illegal.

Led by the Paydari (Steadfastness) Party faction, ultra-hardliners in Parliament have refused to amend a 2020 law that prohibits appointing dual nationals or individuals whose spouses or children hold dual nationality to "sensitive positions" in the government. Hardliners argue the restriction applies to Zarif.

The cut, which slashed about half of the electricity Iran provides to Diyala, severely disrupted power in the province's eastern, northern, and northeastern regions, according to Aws al-Mahdawi, a Diyala Provincial Council member.

"It could be a technical issue or related to re-programming codes," al-Mahdawi told Rudaw, a media outlet in the Iraq’s Kurdistan region.

This latest incident follows a history of disruptions to the Mirsad power line, alongside Iran's own energy shortages which have seen extensive blackouts, most recently forcing working weeks down to two or three days in large swathes of the country.

During Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani's visit to Tehran in January, officials announced plans to restore 625 megawatts through the Mirsad, Karkha, and Siril lines.

Iraq depends on Iranian electricity and gas imports to bolster its own power generation. To mitigate the impact of US sanctions on Iranian exports, Washington has repeatedly granted Iraq four-month waivers, allowing continued energy purchases.

These waivers, recently extended in the summer for 120 days and nearing expiration, are intended as a temporary measure until Iraq can achieve energy independence.

In early February, US President Donald Trump issued a directive to reinstate the 'maximum pressure' policy on Tehran. The directive signaled a potential end to sanctions waivers, saying, “The Secretary of State will also modify or rescind existing sanctions waivers.”

The vote followed a heated session in which Hemmati defended his record while critics pointed to the surging exchange rate and rising inflation.

Parliament voted 182 to 89 in favor of impeachment, with one abstention and one void ballot out of 273 total votes. Under Article 135 of Iran’s Constitution, ministers remain in office unless dismissed by the president or voted out by parliament.

The impeachment was initiated by 119 members of parliament, citing currency instability, the devaluation of the rial, and increasing food prices. Following speeches from both supporters and opponents of Hemmati, lawmakers cast their votes in favor of removing him from office.

President Masoud Pezeshkian attended the session, defending Hemmati by saying that Iran is operating under severe financial constraints.

“The country is in a state of war. Even Qatar, Turkey, and Iraq are not returning our dollars,” he said. Hemmati, for his part, sought to reassure lawmakers by arguing that “the exchange rate will decrease.”

The value of the Iranian rial has sharply declined, with the US dollar now trading at 940,000 rials, further straining households and businesses. Inflation has remained persistently high, with the price of essential goods continuing to rise.

Hemmati acknowledged the hardship, saying: “We understand the devastation that seven consecutive years of over 40% inflation have inflicted on the people. We know that people are suffering under the economic situation.”

During his defense, Hemmati highlighted efforts to increase government revenue through taxation since coming to office last year under Pezeshkian.

“Seventy percent of the government’s expenses are covered through tax revenues. The tax organization generated 1700 trillion rials ($1.8 billion) in revenue over the past month. If the tax organization neglects its duties even for a single day, we won’t be able to pay salaries,” he said.

Some lawmakers accused the government of deliberately allowing the exchange rate to climb. Hemmati rejected the statement, adding: “The dollar rate is not real, and we will certainly bring it down.” He also linked Iran’s economic struggles to US policies, warning that “Trump has officially declared economic war against us.”

Some commentators in Iran have argued that without a deal with the US and the removal of sanctions, the economy cannot improve. Others contend that removing Hemmati alone will do little to address the country’s deeper economic challenges.

The president can appoint an interim minister for up to three months in the absence of a permanent replacement.