Iran foreign minister criticises power of Soleimani in leaked interview Military commander was killed by US drone strike in January 2020
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The published extracts also suggest Soleimani refused foreign ministry requests not to show such obvious support for the regime of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. Photograph: New York Times
Iran’s foreign minister, Javad Zarif, has criticised the dominance of the assassinated Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) commander Qassem Soleimani in Iranian diplomacy, and admitted his own influence over Iranian foreign policy was sometimes zero in a leaked audio recording.
The remarks are from an interview the Iranian foreign ministry admits Mr Zarif gave last March, but it says has been distorted through selective quotes. The leak was claimed as an exclusive by Iran International, a Persian language network viewed by Tehran as hostile and owned by Saudi Arabians.
FILE PHOTO: Iran s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif looks on during a meeting with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi in Tehran, Iran February 21, 2021. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran s top diplomat complained in a leaked recording that the elite Revolutionary Guards had more influence in foreign affairs and the country s nuclear dossier than him, in remarks that shine a light on ties between the government and the powerful force.
Relations between pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani s government and the Guards are important because the influence of the hardline paramilitary force is so great that it can disrupt any rapprochement with the West if it feels this would endanger its economic and political interests.
The EU s decision to impose restrictive measures on senior Iranian commanders from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the paramilitary Basij and the State Security Force has marked a new phase in Iran relations.
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's top diplomat complained in a leaked recording that the elite Revolutionary Guards had more influence in foreign affairs and t.