Party, factional fighting "deadly poison" for Iran's foreign policy: FM Zarif

Fighting between parties and factions in Iran is a "deadly poison" in formulating foreign policy, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in an interview published by the Jomhuri Eslami newspaper on Tuesday, a day after announcing his resignation. Zarif's comments suggest he may have resigned over pressure from hardline elements opposed to his role in negotiating a landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

"We first have to remove our foreign policy from the issue of party and factional fighting," Zarif said in the interview. "The deadly poison for foreign policy is for foreign policy to become an issue of party and factional fighting," he added. President Hassan Rouhani has not formally accepted the resignation which Zarif announced on Monday on Instagram.