What to make of the attempted resignation of Iran’s foreign minister

MUHAMMAD JAVAD ZARIF, Iran’s long-serving foreign minister and architect of its nuclear deal with America and the West, apologised for his shortcomings and resigned, by way of an Instagram post, on February 25th. Within hours, Iran’s two rival camps—one still seeking engagement with the West, the other thirsting for confrontation—were at each other’s throats. The elected government of President Hassan Rouhani pressed Mr Zarif (pictured) to stay. Unelected authorities backed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, spearhead of the hardliners, celebrated his demise. Rarely has the power struggle inside Iran been more exposed.

Mr Rouhani rejected the resignation as “against Iran’s national interests”. With #ZarifStay trending on Twitter, most members of parliament called on him to stick around. Several ambassadors threatened to follow Mr Zarif out. By contrast, agencies tied to the Guards rushed to confirm his departure. One of their loudest television mouthpieces, Vahid Yaminpour, hailed his “ejection from an aircraft in free fall”. Allies of the Guards also predicted that Bijan Zanganeh, the oil minister who has sought to conciliate the West, would go next. Hardliners even called for the ouster of President Rouhani himself.