TEHRAN, Iran — The resignation of Mohammad-Ali Najafi, who was in charge of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization of Iran, after only five months has stirred rumors about the organization's deep financial issues and has brought to the surface accusations of corruption from the previous administration that appeared insurmountable, even for someone with the history and reputation of Najafi.

Najafi is a famous Reformist technocrat who was originally nominated as the minister of education by President Hassan Rouhani, but failed to receive a vote of confidence from the conservative-dominated parliament. Najafi served twice as minister of higher education, as head of the Planning and Budget Organization during President Mohammad Khatami’s first term, was elected to the Tehran City Council in 2007 and, during the 2009 presidential elections, was the economic adviser to candidate Mehdi Karroubi.

Given his resume, his appointment to head the Cultural Heritage organization was viewed by many as Rouhani’s attempt to keep him close to his administration despite his lack of experience in this field. When Rouhani accepted his resignation on Jan. 30, Minister of Communications Mahmoud Vaezi said, “For a while now, Najafi has been trying to persuade the president to appoint someone else as the head of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization.”      

In his letter of resignation, Najafi referred to his “poor health” as the reason. He suffers from heart trouble.