Iran’s political establishment has intensified its backlash against former president Hassan Rouhani and former foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif over their recent remarks on Russia, with parliament members and former officials accusing them of undermining national unity.
Abbas Goudarzi, spokesman for the parliament presidium, accused Rouhani of “disturbing public opinion and weakening national unity” and called on the judiciary to investigate what he described as Zarif’s “anti-Russia remarks.”
His comments, published on Saturday by Tasnim News Agency, came amid growing debate over Iran’s strategic partnership with Russia and China.
Rouhani has recently renewed calls for dialogue with the West and the United States, while Zarif said on October 17 that Moscow’s foreign policy toward Tehran rests on two red lines: “Iran must not normalize relations with the world and must not enter direct confrontation with it.”
“The judiciary must respond decisively,” Goudarzi said. “National security cannot be left in the hands of those who did nothing when in power and now seem upset to see a new global order forming.”
“Today Russia and China stand by the Islamic Republic and by truth itself, taking good positions against America’s unilateralism and condemning the wrongful actions of European countries. Unfortunately, some from within are sending negative signals."
"When they were in positions of responsibility, they leaned entirely toward the West, but now that we are witnessing a positive approach in foreign policy, the same people are pouring water into the enemy’s mill, creating obstacles and placing sticks in the wheels,” he added.
Lawmakers and former officials join criticism
Vahid Ahmadi, a member of the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, also rejected criticism of Iran’s alignment with Russia and China.
“Those who are sensitive about our friendship with the East are either hostile, uninformed, or influenced by certain propaganda,” he said on Saturday in remarks quoted by Fararu website.
“We have long-term 20- and 25-year agreements with Russia and China as partners, and we are acting based on the national interests of our country,” Ahmadi added.
Former foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki, who served under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, also joined the criticism of Rouhani.
“During his government’s nuclear negotiations with the United States, Rouhani adopted the worst possible approach. By referring to America as ‘the village elder,’ he effectively disarmed himself and handed the upper hand to the other side,” he said.
Earlier, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also accused Rouhani and Zarif of damaging Tehran-Moscow relations, which he described as progressing well.
Despite the 20-year strategic cooperation agreement signed earlier this year between Tehran and Moscow, the exchange has laid bare widening divisions within Iran’s political establishment over the country’s reliance on Russia, as critics warn that Moscow sees Iran largely as leverage in its standoff with the West.
