Tehran: Iranian Vice President Mohammad Javad Zarif resigned Sunday night for the second time since his appointment in August of the previous year. In a social media post on X on Monday, Zarif announced that he had met with Iran's judiciary chief on Sunday and accepted the recommendation to return to academia. He expressed hope that his resignation would remove any "excuses for throwing a wrench" in the administration's path to success.

According to Namibia Press Agency, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian received Zarif's resignation letter on Sunday night but has yet to respond. The official news agency IRNA reported the development on Monday. A report from the semi-official Fars news agency highlighted that Zarif's appointment as vice president violated Iran's law on sensitive occupations due to his children's U.S. citizenship.

The report also mentioned that several Iranian lawmakers have been contesting his "illegal" appointment since the administration's inception. Pezeshkian had appointed Zarif, a former foreign minister, as vice president for strategic affairs and head of the Center for Strategic Studies in August last year. Initially, Zarif resigned just 10 days after his appointment, citing dissatisfaction with his work as head of the steering council responsible for selecting the new Iranian administration's cabinet members. He had withdrawn his first resignation following Pezeshkian's efforts and consultations.

In a related development on Sunday, Iranian lawmakers impeached Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Abdolnaser Hemmati, voting for his removal due to ongoing economic challenges, including high inflation and the depreciation of the national currency.