The Iranian Revolutionary Guard announced that it had overseen Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's visit to Tehran last week and met Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, blaming the government for not informing the Foreign Ministry of the visit.
Brigadier General Ismail Qa'ani, deputy commander of the Quds Force, said that the latter was responsible for the external operations of the Revolutionary Guards. He was the one who oversaw the operation of Assad's journey from beginning to end, adding that the trip was a sensitive subject and that the parties were aware of it.
He explained that President Hassan Rowhani was aware of the visit to Assad, saying that the government bears the responsibility not to tell Foreign Minister Mohammed Jawad Zarif.
The Quds Force is different in visions with the government - according to my meeting - but everyone is required to work and coordinate with it because it is a government for all Iranians, and stressed that the commander of the Quds Force, Major General Qassim Soleimani, has a friendly relationship.
This comes a day after Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasimi said that Zarif was not informed of Assad's visit, and that the absence of coordination remained until the end of the visit.
"One of the reasons for the resignation of Dr. Zarif is the lack of coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and as announced earlier, the resignation of the honorable minister was not because of personal and individual issue, and the aim was a positive attempt to restore the ministry and the diplomatic system in the country for their basic.
Sulaimani attended the meeting of Assad Khamenei, and the general said - last week - that Zarif is the main figure responsible for foreign policy and that the leader supports him.
Rohani rejected Zarif's resignation last Wednesday, a move that bolstered the position of his moderate ally, who has been targeted by conservatives in an internal conflict over a nuclear deal with the West in 2015.