ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iranian parliament’s security committee issued a letter on Monday calling for the resignation of Javad Zarif, Iran’s vice president for strategic affairs and former top diplomat, for having family members with dual citizenship.
“The Administrative Court of Justice requested that the decision appointing Mr. Zarif as the president's strategic vice president be annulled and that the effect of the annulment be extended to the time of its notification,” said Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesperson for the parliament’s security committee, as reported by the semi-official ISNA news agency.
Fundamentalist members of parliament are calling for Zarif’s removal based on a law passed in 2022 that prohibits the holding of dual citizenship for spouses of those who hold sensitive governmental positions.
“Persons who themselves, their children, or their spouses have dual citizenship to sensitive jobs and positions is prohibited. Therefore, the head of the commission asked the head of the administrative court to handle this issue,” Rezaei added.
The security committee asked for an “Immediate” investigation.
Zarif’s two children are natural-born US citizens, which has prompted fundamentalists in parliament to call on President Masoud Pezeshkian to overturn the decision he made to give Zarif the vice president position since October.
In August, Zarif resigned from Pezeshkian’s cabinet. He said at the time that he was “not satisfied with the outcome of our work and ashamed that I could not adequately implement the expert opinions of the committees.”
He returned to his post later that month.
Zarif previously served as foreign minister in former reformist president Hassan Rouhani’s cabinet and is famous for negotiating the 2015 Iran nuclear deal with world powers. A seasoned negotiator, he helped open Iran up to the West.
“The Administrative Court of Justice requested that the decision appointing Mr. Zarif as the president's strategic vice president be annulled and that the effect of the annulment be extended to the time of its notification,” said Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesperson for the parliament’s security committee, as reported by the semi-official ISNA news agency.
Fundamentalist members of parliament are calling for Zarif’s removal based on a law passed in 2022 that prohibits the holding of dual citizenship for spouses of those who hold sensitive governmental positions.
“Persons who themselves, their children, or their spouses have dual citizenship to sensitive jobs and positions is prohibited. Therefore, the head of the commission asked the head of the administrative court to handle this issue,” Rezaei added.
The security committee asked for an “Immediate” investigation.
Zarif’s two children are natural-born US citizens, which has prompted fundamentalists in parliament to call on President Masoud Pezeshkian to overturn the decision he made to give Zarif the vice president position since October.
In August, Zarif resigned from Pezeshkian’s cabinet. He said at the time that he was “not satisfied with the outcome of our work and ashamed that I could not adequately implement the expert opinions of the committees.”
He returned to his post later that month.
Zarif previously served as foreign minister in former reformist president Hassan Rouhani’s cabinet and is famous for negotiating the 2015 Iran nuclear deal with world powers. A seasoned negotiator, he helped open Iran up to the West.
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