Iran Foreign Minister Zarif accuses late Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Soleimani of directing foreign policy
Agencies | London
The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said he was forced to sacrifice diplomacy in favour of operations by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to a leaked audio recording.
The three-hour interview with Zarif, which was obtained by the London-based Iran International television channel, reveals the extent of the IRGC’s control over foreign policy.
Zarif said Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Guard’s Quds Force, which is responsible for overseas operations, had a direct hand over broader foreign policy. Soleimani was killed in a US airstrike in Baghdad in January last year.
As one of Iran’s most powerful figures, he oversaw the regime’s proxy militias in countries like Syria, Iraq and Yemen. According to Iran International, Zarif said Soleimani’s influence meant he had to further diplomacy that served Iran’s military operations in the region. “On the other hand, I have never been able to ask Soleimani to do something that would serve my diplomatic moves,” he said.
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