ERBIL — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reiterated his country’s firm position towards the Islamic Republic of Iran after Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif handed in his resignation a few hours earlier.

“We note Zarif’s resignation. We’ll see if it sticks,” Pompeo wrote on his Twitter account as Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is yet to accept Zarif’s resignation.

“Either way, he and Hassan Rouhani are just front men for a corrupt religious mafia. We know [Iranian Supreme Leader] Ali Khamenei makes all final decisions,” Pomepeo stated.

The Secretary of State also noted that Washington’s policy remains “unchanged”, and that it will push the Iranian government to “behave like a normal country and respect its people”.

Zarif announced his resignation on Instagram overnight on Monday. He indicated later in an interview that internal conflicts between political factions in Iran might have led him to step down as Iran’s foreign minister after 67 months in the position.

Bas News