Zarif, who has been heading the Iranian Foreign Ministry since 2013, announced on Monday in his Instagram blog that he was leaving his post and apologized for his "inability to continue the service." Later in the day, media reported that Rouhani had accepted the minister's unexpected resignation.
"Reports claiming that the president of the republic [of Iran] has accepted Zarif's resignation are categorically refuted," Vaezi wrote on Twitter late on Monday.
The foreign minister's aide, in turn, told Sputnik on Monday that the ministry's personnel was unaware of Zarif's resignation or the possible reasons behind it. The aide also stressed that Zarif's Instagram account was official and it had not been hacked.
The move was confirmed by Iranian Deputy Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Seyed Abbas Moussavi, according to the Fars news agency.
The Iranian parliament will debate on the resignation of Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at Tuesday's session, a source told Sputnik.
