IRANIAN communists said today they did not expect the sudden resignation of Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to prompt any change in direction for Iran.

Mr Zarif announced his resignation on Monday, though it has yet to be accepted by the president and the politician has previous form in threatening to resign to shore up his own position.

He said he was stepping down with an “apology” to the nation since the nuclear deal he negotiated has been torn up by the United States, which has reimposed crippling sanctions on the country.

The communist Tudeh Party of Iran’s international secretary Navid Shomali told the Morning Star that “neither Zarif nor the government have the final say in foreign policy decisions,” which he said were decided by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Hardliners associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had strengthened their hand as a result of US President Donald Trump’s aggressive policies, he added.

Tehran was determined to exploit “the harsh realities imposed on ordinary Iranians by the economic crisis and galvanise public support for them and antipathy to their opponents,” he argued.