Reporting by PMOI/MEK
Iran, July 6, 2020—Iranian regime Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was summoned for questioning before the new Majlis (the mullahs’ parliament) for the first time on Sunday, July 5. The quarrels and disputes that erupted shed new light and provided an intriguing window into the internal disputes and crises that are riddling the mullahs’ entire apparatus.
“Our foreign policy is not a subject where different factions or groups can argue about. Our foreign policy is under the authority of [Iranian regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei] and the state’s general policies regarding foreign affairs are determined by him. You should know that we are all in the same boat. We are all in this together. America doesn’t recognize liberals, reformists, principalists, revolutionaries or non-revolutionaries. We are all in one boat,” Zarif explained with grave concerns about the escalating political disputes inside the mullahs’ regime.
During his remarks several Majlis members were heard shouting and attempting to disrupt the session, even calling Zarif a liar.
Listen to Iran's Foreign Minister, @JZarif defending himself in parliament today while being berated by lawmakers.
Zarif: I coordinated everything with Soleimani/the Supreme Leader knew about my lies/"We are all on the same boat".– And this boat is going to sink very soon. pic.twitter.com/CXICdzw3qu
— Iran News Wire (@IranNW) July 5, 2020
Zarif once again acknowledged the fact that measures taken by his Foreign Ministry were coordinated with the now dead Qasim Soleimani, the former head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) Quds Force. “Soleimani and I would meet every week and coordinate our measures. Regarding regional issues whatever we did was in collaboration with each other. Those who knew Soleimani closely, those who know [Hezbollah leader] Hassan Nasrallah closely, they know how our relations were, not you,” Zarif lashed back.
Hossein Shariatmadari, editor-in-chief of Kayhan daily, an outlet known as Khamenei’s mouthpiece, published a piece titled, “Why don’t you reach into your pocket?”
“If Mr. Zarif believes the actions and report card of his ministry are defendable why doesn’t he reach into his own pocket and provide credible documents and strong reasoning? And if they believe their Foreign Ministry has not been successful, why do they associate that to [Khamenei]?” Shariatmadari asked.
“[Khamenei] emphasized in 2015 that sanctions reliefs following the [nuclear] deal is an American plot. However, [Foreign Ministry officials] gave up all the concessions and in return they received only a temporary promise of sanctions reliefs. The result has not been any sanctions relief and in fact dozens of other sanctions have been added! The negligence our country’s negotiating team to [Khamenei’s] warnings allowed the U.S. to deceive our negotiating team! Meaning they once again did not pay any attention to [Khamenei’s] advice about not being fooled by the enemy’s smiles,” Shariatmadari continued.
Ali Mottahari, a former Majlis member known for his rivalry with Khamenei’s faction, sought to come to Zarif’s rescue. “A portion of the criticism raised by Majlis members against Zarif should actually be raised against the entire establishment. The 2015 nuclear deal negotiations were launched under [Khamenei’s] supervision and the agreement was signed with his approval,” Mottahari said. “Majlis members should be informed what kind of conditions we are in. We have never seen such circumstances in the past 41 years. These current sanctions are unprecedented and cannot be compared at all to the sanctions imposed back in 2011.”
