Iran's Speaker joins camp demanding Zarif's resignation

Iran's Parliament Speaker has come under fire from Reformists and other supporters of Masoud Pezeshkian for joining ultra-hardliners in demanding Mohammad-Javad Zarif’s withdrawal from the government.

Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf on Wednesday surprised many who believed he supported Pezeshkian, who has insisted on keeping Zarif in his 'national unity' cabinet as his strategic deputy, despite controversies over his son’s American citizenship.

In a Thursday editorial titled “Repetition of Political Self-Harm,” the 'reformist' Ham-Mihan newspaper criticized Ghalibaf for two decades of political inconsistency, accusing him of shifting allegiance between political factions.

The editorial further alleged that Ghalibaf's shift in stance on Zarif was prompted by the recent dismissal of Mehdi Maskani, the chief executive of the National Retirement Fund and one of Ghalibaf’s closest allies, by Pezeshkian’s Minister of Labor, Ahmad Meydari.

“Every incompetent person is not supposed to remain in their jobs because of your support or affiliation to you. You’d better stop political self-harm and employ trustworthy and qualified advisors,” the editorial told Ghalibaf.

Led by the Paydari (Steadfastness) Party faction, ultra-hardliners in Parliament last week rejected to amend a 2020 law that prohibits appointing dual nationals or individuals whose spouses or children hold dual nationality to "sensitive positions" in the government. Hardliners argue the restriction applies to Zarif.

In Wednesday’s session, Ghalibaf said he, too, believed that Zarif’s appointment to the post was illegal and urged him to resign voluntarily.

Pezeshkian’s legal deputy, Majid Ansari, and a member of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s office, Mehdi Fazaeli, maintain that Khamenei does not oppose the former foreign minister’s inclusion in the government.

Only three days before his so-called “U-turn”, Ghalibaf had said that he, too, knew about Khamenei’s position as expressed by Fazaeli.

A commentary on the moderate-conservative Asr-e Iran news website suggested that Ghalibaf's sudden U-turn may reflect a sense of betrayal, believing that Pezeshkian has failed to reciprocate the support he provided.

Pezeshkian, who refers to his administration as the "National Unity Government," appointed Eskandar Momeni, a close ally of Ghalibaf, as interior minister—a key cabinet position—and retained several ministers from hardliner Ebrahim Raisi’s administration, despite strong objections from Reformist politicians.

Ghalibaf and his supporters in Parliament played a pivotal role in securing a vote of confidence for Pezeshkian’s entire cabinet, including several prominent Reformists, despite the conservative-dominated makeup of the legislature.

Ghalibaf was one of the four hardliners and ultra-hardliners who ran against Pezeshkian in the presidential elections. He withdrew from the race in the runoff elections, very reluctantly and after much behind the scenes disputes and power struggle, to allow ultra-hardliner Saeed Jalili to compete with Pezeshkian. However, many of his campaign groups reneged and joined Pezeshkian’s campaign against Jalili.

Some Reformist politicians and activists, including Mostafa Kavakebian, the secretary general of the Reformist Mardomsalari Party, have also criticized Ghalibaf for siding with ultra-hardliners in demanding Zarif’s exclusion from the government.

"The country needs fresh decision-making and a strategic focus on resolving the people's problems. Unfortunately, however, the priority for some lawmakers, from the Paydari Party to His Excellency Ghalibaf, seems to be eliminating the country's diplomatic asset—Zarif—from Pezeshkian’s government," Kavakebian tweeted on Wednesday.

Ghalibaf’s supporters have taken to social media too to defend him against such criticisms.

“Ghalibaf became a symbol of development, transformation, and harmony yesterday when he played a central role in the [Parliament’s] approval of cabinet ministers but today he has become a hypocrite and a reactionary to you because he is demanding Zarif not to be in the cabinet, based on the law, to avoid the law from being violated. Doesn’t so much contradiction jolt you?” Hamed Akbari, a pro-Ghalibaf sociologist and journalist protested in an X post Wednesday.