Jim Lobe: hawkish forces inside Trump administration would actually like Zarif to resign
Tehran (KNA): We have had an exclusive interview with Jim Lobe (American journalist ) about internatinal relations.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has unexpectedly announced his resignation in an Instagram post.
"I am grateful for magnanimity of the dear and courageous people of Iran and the respectable authorities' over the past 67 months," read the post published on late Monday local time.Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday rejected a resignation letter tendered by his foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif.Many experts published their own ideas about Zarif resign.
Some news agencies, like Reuters, emphasized that the reason for the resignation of Zarif was the pressure of his opposition on his policy. Others give some other reasons for that.We have had an exclusive interview with Jim Lobe about Zarif role in foreign policy and international relations.
Jim Lobe (born January 4, 1949) is an American journalist and the Washington Bureau Chief of the international news agency Inter Press Service.
Q. What do you think about Zarif resignation? Is his resignation related to JCPOA and its future which is in threat?
A. So this may have been an effort by Zarif to express his unhappiness with a number of things, most notably, reportedly, his absence in a meeting with Syrian President Assad. As a result, there is as yet no suggestion that Zarif left because of disagreements over whether to remain or withdraw from the JCPOA.
Q. Does Iran Leave JCPOA if Zarif leave? What do you think about the consequences of Zarif resign? Are Americans (Trump and his government) happy for Zarif resign?
A. It's clear that the hawkish forces inside and around the Trump administration, led by Bolton and Pompeo, would actually like Zarif to resign and to be replaced by someone who is not so familiar - or who enjoys such good relations - with US and western journalists, think tankers, and diplomats - as Zarif.
That's because the administration is pursuing a confrontational policy vis-à-vis Iran.So the replacement of Zarif would be exactly what Bolton et al most desire at this time. The idea is that Iran would then get much less sympathy and diplomatic support from other western powers, particularly the EU3.