Sina Azodi is a PhD candidate in International Affairs at the University of South Florida, and a Foreign Policy Advisor at Gulf State Analytics. His research interests include international security, nuclear non-proliferation, and US-Iranian relations. Sina previously worked as a Research Assistant at Princeton University’s Program on Science and Global Security. Sina earned his BA and MA in International Affairs from the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University.
Iranâs Foreign Minister, in Leaked Tape, Says Revolutionary Guards Set Policies
Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister, described a rivalry with a powerful and widely revered military leader, Qassim Suleimani.
Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iranâs foreign minister.Credit.Russian Foreign Ministry/Agence France-Presse â Getty Images
April 25, 2021, 8:42 p.m. ET
In a leaked audiotape that offers a glimpse into the behind-the scenes power struggles of Iranian leaders, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the Revolutionary Guards Corps call the shots, overruling many government decisions and ignoring advice.
In one extraordinary moment on the tape that surfaced Sunday, Mr. Zarif departed from the reverential official line on Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, the commander of the Guardsâ elite Quds Force, the foreign-facing arm of Iranâs security apparatus, who was killed by the United States in January 2020.
Farnaz Fassihi, The New York Times
Published: 26 Apr 2021 10:53 AM BdST
Updated: 26 Apr 2021 10:53 AM BdST A photo made available by the Office of the Iranian Presidency of Iran s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on March 21, 2021
In a leaked audiotape that offers a glimpse into the behind-the scenes power struggles of Iranian leaders, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the Revolutionary Guard call the shots, overruling many government decisions and ignoring advice. );
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In one extraordinary moment on the tape that surfaced Sunday, Zarif departed from the reverential official line on Gen Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Guard s elite Quds Force, the foreign-facing arm of Iran’s security apparatus, who was killed by the United States in January 2020.
Tehran: In a leaked audiotape that offers a glimpse into the behind-the scenes power struggles of Iranian leaders, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the Revolutionary Guard call the shots, overruling many government decisions and ignoring advice.
In one extraordinary moment on the tape that surfaced Sunday, Zarif departed from the reverential official line on Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Guard’s elite Quds Force, the foreign-facing arm of Iran’s security apparatus, who was killed by the United States in January 2020.
The general, Zarif said, undermined him at many steps, working with Russia to sabotage the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers and adopting policies toward Syria’s long war that damaged Iran’s interests.
Democratic National Convention via AP
A truly fascinating story broke on Sunday in the New York Times, but readers had to get to the 21st paragraph of a 25 paragraph story to find a key detail about John Kerry.
During the Trump Administration, Kerry informed the Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, that Israel had been attacking Iranian “interests” military targets in Syria throughout the Trump Administration.
Former Secretary of State John Kerry informed him that Israel had attacked Iranian interests in Syria at least 200 times, to his astonishment, Mr. Zarif said.
That one sentence is the only reference in the story about John Kerry, although there may be a reason for that as explained below.