On 27 February, President Hassan Rouhani rejected the resignation of Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Mr Zarif had handed his resignation on 25 February, announcing it on social media. In a letter responding to the resignation, Rouhani stated: “since you are ‘honest, brave, courageous and pious’, as Supreme Leader put it, and since I believe you are at the forefront of resisting the intense pressures of the United States, I consider accepting your resignation against our country’s interests, and I reject it.” After the president’s announcement, and despite rumours saying his resignation was motivated by criticism of the nuclear deal, Zarif accepted to continue as Foreign Minister and was spotted the same day attending a ceremony to welcome Armenia’s PM to Tehran.