Iranian vice president resigns less than a week after taking office

By 
 August 12, 2024

Iran's government has received significant attention in recent days amid growing fears that it may launch an attack on Israel.

The attention escalated on Monday when it was revealed that Iranian Vice President For Strategic Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif had abruptly resigned less than a week after taking office. 

Zarif helped to negotiate nuclear deal with Obama administration

According to The Times of Israel, Zarif announced his departure on social media, writing, "I resigned from the position of vice-president for strategic affairs last week."

"I am ashamed that I could not implement, in a decent way, the expert opinion of the committees [responsible for selecting candidates] and achieve the inclusion of women, youth and ethnic groups, as I had promised," he continued.

"My message… is not a sign of regret or disappointment with dear Dr. Pezeshkian or opposition to realism," Zarif said, referring to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

The Times recalled how Zarif previously served as Iran's foreign minister and helped to negotiate a controversial nuclear agreement with the Obama administration in 2015.

Trump campaign says it was hacked by Iran

Iran was also in the news this past weekend due to allegations that it hacked former President Donald Trump's campaign.

"These documents were obtained illegally from foreign sources hostile to the United States, intended to interfere with the 2024 election and sow chaos throughout our Democratic process," Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung told Politico.

"On Friday, a new report from Microsoft found that Iranian hackers broke into the account of a 'high ranking official' on the U.S. presidential campaign in June 2024, which coincides with the close timing of President Trump’s selection of a vice presidential nominee," he continued.

Microsoft acknowledges Iranian hack

"The Iranians know that President Trump will stop their reign of terror just like he did in his first four years in the White House," Cheung went on to add.

Cheung's words were bolstered by a Microsoft blog post which also pointed to hacking efforts by elements of the Iranian regime.

"Yet another Iranian group, this one connected with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, sent a spear phishing email in June to a high-ranking official on a presidential campaign from the compromised email account of a former senior advisor," the post read.

"The email contained a link that would direct traffic through a domain controlled by the group before routing to the website of the provided link," it explained.

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