'Death to the minister of foreigners': Iranian conservatives call for Zarif's execution following audio-leak

Following the leak of an audio recording in which Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif criticised the power of assassinated commander Qasem Soleimani, conservatives have called for his trial and execution.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab Staff

30 April, 2021

Iranian conservatives called for Zarif to be executed [Getty]

Following the leak of an audio recording last week in which Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was heard criticizing assassinated Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) commander Qasem Soleimani, dozens of conservatives staged a fierce protest outside the Iranian foreign ministry office in the eastern city of Mashhad, chanting "Death to the Minister of the Foreigners!"

There have been calls from Iranian conservatives for Zarif, a career diplomat who was heard bemoaning the power of Iranian military leaders in the recording, to be put on trial and executed.

The recording was a three-hour interview with Zarif intended for an oral history project but it was published last week by the London-based opposition outlet Iran International.

— Sina Toossi (@SinaToossi) April 30, 2021 " style="color:#fff;" class="twitter-post-link" target="_blank">Twitter Post

Anti-Zarif rally in Mashhad. Slogan: "Death to the minister of foreigners!" Zarif is facing severe attacks from hardliners after the leaked tape, with many wanting to remove him from power.https://t.co/Ov2s4CNdZ3
— Sina Toossi (@SinaToossi) April 30, 2021

In the interview, Zarif said that the elite Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) runs all aspects of Iranian foreign policy, complaining about his own inability to infuence events.

He added that Qasem Soleimani ran an independent policy in Syria and would use IranAir flights to transport fighters and equipment to the war-torn country, also saying that the IRGC commander, who was killed in a 2020 airstrike, colluded with Russia to disrupt the implementation of the 2015 nuclear deal which Iran reached with world powers.

"My diplomacy always paid the price for the military activities of the Martyr Qasem Soleimani and it was not vice versa," he said in the leaked interview, which was conducted by Saeed Leelaz

On Thursday, Hussamuddin Ashna, the head of the Iranian presidency's Centre for Strategic Studies, which commissioned the interview, resigned and was replaced with government spokesman Ali Rabaie.

On Wednesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the interview was leaked to sow "discord" during talks in Vienna on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, which former US President Donald Trump pulled out of.

Rouhani said the audio was leaked just as the Vienna talks were "at the height of their success, so that it creates discord inside" Iran.

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