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Iran
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif pictured in Tehran on February 23, 2021. Photo: Atta Kenare/AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has been summoned to parliament to answer for his criticism of slain commander Qasem Soleimani in an interview leaked by a channel with alleged ties to Saudi Arabia earlier this week, according to Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) media.
“I have asked Mohammad Javad Zarif to attend the first meeting of the [parliament] Foreign Affairs and National Security Commission,” commission spokesperson Abolfazl Amoei told TasnimNews. “Offering explanations about the leaked file as well as responses to the functions of the foreign ministry are the main subjects of the meeting.”
IRGC outlets have launched a scathing attack on Zarif and President Hassan Rouhani’s government following the FM’s comments about Iranian diplomacy being subservient to the whims of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and slain IRGC commander Soleimani. The comments were part of a three-hour interview that were conducted by Rouhani loyalists in late February to record the oral history of Zarif’s tenure in office and to set the record straight with hardliners on numerous issues.
In the interview, Zarif criticised Soleimani for his interference in Iranian foreign affairs, saying the actions of the commander impeded his diplomacy. Released just as Zarif headed for a visit to Iraq and Qatar, the leak has seemingly put an end to Zarif’s hopes of becoming president.
Rouhani has since come to the defense of his foreign minister and praised Soleimani for his contribution to the Islamic Republic. “The enemy is after division in our ranks but we should not allow this to happen,” he said during a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
“I call on everyone, including the national media … to tread carefully and with patience .Do not allow the enemy to take advantage of this situation.”
“This action was done by the filthiest channel which is totally anti-Islam and anti –Iran. Its money comes from Saudi Arabia and everyone knows this,” he added.
The FM has since made public tributes to Soleimani, backtracking from his comments after online attacks from the IRGC.
“I was very sad that a confidential theoretical discussion about the urgency of synchronizing the diplomacy and the battlefield – so to benefit from the valuable experiences of the last eight years for the next statesmen – has been turned into an internal tussle,” Zarif wrote on his Instagram page on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Zarif paid tribute to his “old friend” Soleimani at Baghdad International Airport, where the Quds Force commander was killed in a US airstrike in January 2020, and said that his “deep friendship and cooperation” with the slain leader lasted for more than two decades.
The IRGC attacks on Zarif have continued, however, with social media accounts posting pictures of Zarif in US military fatigue, calling on people and officials to take a stand against the foreign minister and “reiterate their pledge of allegiance to haj Qasem.”
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