Zarif also stated that Iranian diplomacy was jeopardized and penalized by the army’s activities, particularly in Syria, in which the IRGC were helping President Bashar al-Assad to crush a rebellion against his rule.
“My diplomacy consistently paid the cost for the military actions of the Martyr Qasem Soleimani and it wasn’t vice versa,” he stated in the interview with Laylaz.
Soleimani also exploited the lifting of sanctions following the 2015 atomic deal to utilize flights transporting military equipment and employees in Tehran to Damascus aboard civilian air carrier Iranair without advising Zarif, he stated from the recording.
The cassette of Zarif shows a rare moment of inner criticism against Soleimani. The potent commander, who led the Quds Force, an elite unit which manages Iran’s overseas military operations, had been murdered by a targeted US drone attack in Iraq at January 2020.
The timing of this sound flow is questionable. Iranian elections are set to happen in June, together with the principal competition lying involving President Hassan Rouhani and Zarif’s comparatively moderate camp enclosing the hardline traditional camp.
Iran is also currently participate in sensitive discussions in Vienna with world powers on its atomic program and also a return to the JCPOA.
The authenticity of the tape hasn’t been formally verified, but Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh didn’t deny its validity throughout the subsequent news conference.
Khatibzadeh, nevertheless, stated that the quotations had been taken out of context and don’t reflect the official position.
The leaked cassette”was by no way a meeting from the start, nor was it supposed to be a meeting… it had been a part of a regular and confidential conversation that occurs inside the government,” Khatibzadeh additional, based on state-run Press TV.