Pressure from hardliners over Iran's nuclear deal with world powers forced Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to resign, according to a close ally cited by Reuters on Tuesday.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the ally said, "There were closed-door meetings every week, where top officials were bombarding him with questions about the deal and what will happen next and so on." Zarif said on Tuesday that he was forced to resign to protect the ministry's honor, seeming to confirm he was angry about being left out of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad's visit to Tehran this week.