Since the leak, on April 25, of a sound interview supposed to remain "confidential", the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mohammad Javad Zarif, has been at the center of discussions for having criticized the seizure of the al-Quds Force, in charge of operations. representatives of the Revolutionary Guards, on the foreign policy of the State.

Embarrassed by the words of his minister, whom several media are already nicknamed the "Zarif Leaks", the Iranian president ended up ordering, Tuesday, April 27, the opening of an investigation for "conspiracy". Hassan Rohani asked for these investigations in order to identify the perpetrator (s) of the "theft" of the three-hour recording in which Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks, government spokesman Ali Rabii said. "We believe that this data theft is a conspiracy against the government, the system, the integrity of national institutions and also against our national interests," Ali Rabii said at a press conference.

In the sound clips broadcast by the foreign press, including the New York Times and the BBC in Persian language, the head of Iranian diplomacy expands without taboo on the mode of confession.

"I sacrificed diplomacy for the battlefield," he said.

If Mohammad Javad Zarif is to be believed, it is a whole strategic part of Iranian diplomacy that escapes him on a daily basis, in favor of the Force al-Quds, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In the extracts taken up by the BBC, the diplomat affirms, for example, that it is through his American counterpart, John Kerry, that he learned with astonishment, in June 2016, the use of planes of the company Iran Air for supply Syria. 

In the leaked extracts, Mohammad Javad Zarif also mentions the role of the late General Qassem Soleimani in negotiations with foreign countries.

The leaked comments drew sharp criticism in Iran from media and conservative politicians, with the general's case particularly sensitive.

A recording intended to be broadcast

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Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Said Khatibzadeh, who also did not dispute the authenticity of the recording, claimed it was taken from a seven-hour interview that included "personal opinions "and that the words contained in the recording were intended to be" confidential ". 

According to several media, this interview conducted by Iranian economist Sayeed Laylaz, close to the reformers, was intended for the production of a historic documentary on the mandate of Hassan Rouhani, which is coming to an end in June 2021. 

The rare confessions of a minister

But the Iranian minister had already had the opportunity to express his annoyance.

Two years ago, he presented his resignation hoping that it would act as "a blow of the cudgel which will allow the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to regain its legal status in matters of international relations", he then declared.

But this had been refused by the Iranian president. 

"The problems of which Mohammad Javad Zarif complains - the security approach which takes precedence over diplomacy - are not new in Iran", comments Thierry Coville, researcher at the Institute of International and Strategic Relations (Iris). They derive from the Iranian Constitution which "gives a lot of power to the Supreme Leader and to unelected institutions, alongside democratic institutions". "The status of the Revolutionary Guards is special. It is a force responsible for defending the ideals of the Islamic Republic, and they report only to the Supreme Leader," explains the specialist. "But it's not often to hear a minister criticize his country's foreign policy choices so bluntly. It can get him into trouble."

Calls for resignation in the midst of nuclear negotiations

Indeed, as soon as the interview leaked, some detractors of the Minister of Foreign Affairs called for his resignation.

The ultraconservative newspaper Vatan-e Emrooz, meanwhile, published a large black and white photo of Mohammad Javad Zarif, described as "despicable", written in red.

For the ultraconservative daily Kayhan, usually close to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Mohammad Javad Zarif broke the rules of "confidentiality" incumbent on his office and provided the enemies of Iran with "intelligence and ammunition" for their psychological war against the country.

For their part, the reformist newspapers seek to know which faction benefited from this leak. The daily Shargh asks on the front page: "Who disclosed it, who profited from it?", To conclude that this leak could have been orchestrated by Tehran and "[would aim] to eliminate Zarif" from the presidential race, envisaged for June 18 in Iran. The foreign minister has been cited as a possible candidate, although he has said he has no intention of running.

The disclosure of this audio file comes at another key moment, as Mohammad Javad Zarif's diplomatic team is engaged in discussions for a possible return of the United States to the Iran nuclear deal.

A resignation of the man behind the signing of the 2015 agreement would trigger a tsunami in already very complex negotiations.

With AFP

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