Mohammad Javad Zarif, the foreign minister of the Islamic Republic announced his resignation on Instagram.

He wrote: “I sincerely apologize for not being able to continue my service and all the shortcomings and mistakes during my service.”

The rumors of Zarif’s resignation has been circulating in the past few months but each time Zarif was the first to deny it.

Abbas Mousavi, the deputy foreign minister of the Islamic Republic has confirmed Zarif’s resignation in an interview with IRNA.

Zarif had regularly complained about the intervention and sabotage against the administration’s diplomatic strategy.

In recent months, after he stated that widespread money laundering is a reality in the Islamic Republic, pressures on him from the government’s opposition within the regime increased exponentially.

Some sources close to the government say this is not the first time that Zarif has resigned. His resignation might be used as leverage to get the FATF (anti-money laundering) bills passed.

It is not clear whether Rouhani accepts this resignation or not.

Although the supreme leader has been critical of the administration in the past year, he has always praised Zarif’s actions and comments regarding American policies.