Mohammad Javad Zarif
The former longtime diplomat suggested that his departure came at the order of a high-ranking official.
International sanctions have caused vulnerabilities in the Islamic Republic’s supply chains, according to Iranian Vice President Mohammad Javad Zarif.
Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, also noted that the recordings “underscore what has long been known about the Islamic Republic: The foreign ministry is not where foreign policy is made.”
The backlash over allegations that former Secretary of State John Kerry may have provided Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif inside information on Israeli military operations has sparked calls for an investigation.
The leaked interview, which has set off a storm both in Iran and abroad, starkly illustrates Iran’s regional order of priorities and the limited role of diplomacy in determining it.
The timing of the leak was designed to cause internal Iranian divisions just as nuclear talks approach a decisive phase, says Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
An Iranian government spokesman called the leak “a conspiracy against the government.”
Former Secretary of State John Kerry denies as “unequivocally false” reports that he ever discussed covert Israeli military actions in Syria with Iran’s foreign minister.
“I have never been able to tell a military commander to do something in order to aid diplomacy,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was reported as saying in a seven-hour interview.
Calling the event “nuclear terrorism,” Atomic Energy Organization of Iran head Ali Akbar Salehi says Tehran reserves “the right to take action against the perpetrators.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif calls on the United States “not to be shy, but takes measures that they need to take.”
Compensation could take the form of reparations, investment or “measures to prevent a repeat of what Trump did,” says Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
