An intersection that imposes itself on Raisi's government. How do Iranians explain the National Security Council's foreign affairs in normalizing with neighboring countries?

TEHRAN (FNA)- A week after representing Tehran at the Beijing talks that resulted in the imminent resumption of diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani held high-level talks in the United Arab Emirates, raising major questions about the intersection of his duties with the work of the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

In light of the rapprochement between Iran and Gulf states, the official IRNA news agency reported that Shamkhani will visit Iraq in the next few days, highlighting the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council as the architect of the normalization of Tehran's relations with the Arab neighborhood.

Meanwhile, the local newspaper Arman Melli questioned whether the National Security Council was delegated to Iran's foreign policy, stressing that the tasks entrusted to Shamkhani lie at the heart of the tasks of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which indicates dissatisfaction with the performance of the ministry, and what led the higher authorities to entrust the task of normalizing relations with regional countries to a seasoned politician.

Observers believe that Shamkhani was able to solve one of the most complex files in Iran's foreign policy at the regional level (European)

Intersection of tasks

In its editorial titled "Who holds the reins of foreign policy?" Contrary to the efforts of conservative hawks to dismiss the reformist politician over the past months, Shamkhani has managed to resolve the most complex files in Iran's foreign policy at the regional level.

Despite Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian's assertion that there is no disagreement over his country's foreign policy, Shamkhani's latest mission casts a shadow over the status of the Foreign Ministry, according to the newspaper, which recalls that former Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif did not accept a parallel policy that intersected with the tasks of his ministry.

In response to some questions raised by the Persian press about the absence of the Iranian Foreign Ministry from Shamkhani's regional talks, Abdollahian denied the existence of any differences over the country's foreign policy, writing in a tweet on Twitter that Shamkhani's visit to the UAE and Iraq comes within the framework of existing security relations and is not a new phenomenon, stressing that "coordination in foreign policy exists and everything is done in order and under the supervision of the President of the Republic."

For his part, Iranian diplomat and former ambassador to Britain, Jalal Sadatian, believes that authorizing the National Security Council to carry out the tasks that fall within the core of the work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs undermines the position of the latter, stressing that the intersection of tasks between state institutions reveals the failure of the first institution to accomplish its duties.

Admiral Shamkhani's visit to the UAE and Iraq is part of existing security relations and is not a new phenomenon. He is accompanied by a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on his visits. Coordination in foreign policy exists and everything is carried out under the supervision of the President of the Republic. Let the enemies know that there is no disagreement.

— H.Amirabdollahian Amir Abdollahian (@Amirabdolahian) March 17, 2023

Culture and language

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Sadatian reads Shamkhani's diplomatic visits in the context of the decisions taken by the Iranian authorities to overcome the current delicate stage, where external pressure on Tehran is increasing, stressing that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not unique to the country's foreign policy, and that state institutions have a long history in evaluating government policies.

Sadatian explained that what he described as "extremists" who attacked the Saudi embassy in Tehran 7 years ago have great influence in the conservative movement, and that authorizing the National Security Council to normalize relations between Tehran and Riyadh has removed pressure from the Foreign Ministry and the government of Ebrahim Raisi.

Referring to Shamkhani's 2000 visit to Saudi Arabia and its positive results in strengthening bilateral relations, Sadatian concluded that Shamkhani has great energy to overcome obstacles in Iranian-Arab relations, given his Arabic language and experience of Arab culture.

Foreign policy

On the other hand, former Iranian ambassador to Libya Jaafar Kannad Bashi believes that Shamkhani's mission is in line with his country's policy aimed at neutralizing the portfolios of foreign affairs, security and interior from political competition and subjecting them to state institutions, stressing that the National Security Council has a state authority and is not affiliated with the government like the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, noting that state institutions cooperate according to prior coordination at the highest levels.

Qannad Bashi explained – in his speech to Al Jazeera Net – that the representative of the Iranian Foreign Ministry keeps pace with Shamkhani in his visits, and that there is no unified protocol to normalize relations between countries from the gate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs only, and the priority may be for the security or economic circles if necessary.

He said the country's foreign policy was in constant coordination with the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, and that Shamkhani represented the Supreme Leader's office in Iran's National Security Council.

Iranian newspaper assesses that Hossein Amir-Abdollahian's affiliation with the conservative movement is difficult to change and may increase criticism of Raisi's government (IRNA)

Contraindications and challenges

According to an editorial in Arman Melli, if reports about Shamkhani being assigned the task of normalizing his country's relations with neighboring countries are true following the failure of the Iranian Foreign Ministry to resolve thorny issues, then the government will face 3 major challenges during the coming period, as follows:

• The Foreign Ministry is one of the main faces of the government, but Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian's affiliation with the conservative movement and his proximity to the "Steadfastness Front" will make it difficult for President Ebrahim Raisi to change for fear of growing criticism of his government.
• There may be stronger options than Abdollahian that force Raisi to take into account the political energies of other powers.
• The government has made a lot of publicity about its foreign policy achievements, and Abdollahian's change may distort the results of that propaganda, necessitating that he should be kept at the helm of the foreign ministry and Shamkhani should perform some regional tasks.