Ghasemi: Zarif's Resignation Rumor is False; We Have Not Received a Letter from Ejei Regarding Money Laundering

Bahrām Ghasemi, the spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry, in a press conference on Monday, November 28, addressed the rumor of Mohammad Javad Zarif's resignation, stating: "I certainly deny this rumor. These news items are produced, distributed, and processed by specific centers. Mr. Zarif is actively engaged in his work. He was in Parliament yesterday and is hosting a foreign delegation today." He added: "I believe these rumors are calculated and precise, aiming to weaken the Foreign Ministry and the Minister himself. This is not the first time such news and rumors have been published in the media, social networks, and even today in some official media." The Foreign Ministry spokesperson did not provide further details about the "rumor spreaders," but Jawad Karimi Qoddusi, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission and representative of Mashhad in Parliament, was among those who raised this issue six days ago. In an interview with the Fars News Agency, he had stated regarding the recent remarks of the Foreign Minister about money laundering: "For some time, we have had semi-reliable news that Zarif has resigned from his position in the Foreign Ministry, but the Foreign Ministry spokesperson denied it, while our analysis is that Mohammad Javad Zarif will sooner or later reach the point of submitting his resignation to the government and the president." He added: "Zarif is the source of many of our country's current troubles." On the other hand, Parviz Esmaeili, the Deputy for Communications and Information at the President's Office, also tweeted on Sunday: "Some currency and coin channels have claimed Dr. Zarif has resigned, and this time the political rumor spreaders have taken on the burden! Apparently, the declining trend and relative calm in the coin and currency market have made some people nostalgic for renewed turmoil and easy profits. This will be denied again." Ghasemi: We Have Not Received a Letter from Ejei Requesting Money Laundering Documents. The spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry of Iran further emphasized in his remarks on Monday: "I am surprised that Zarif's statement about money laundering was met with intense and strange reactions in society and among certain politicians." Last week, Mohammad Javad Zarif described the extent of money laundering in the Islamic Republic as "widespread" and stated in an interview with "Khabar Online" that the reason for the atmosphere against money laundering bills is "the interests of tens of thousands of billions of some individuals." Hossein Naqavi Hosseini, the spokesperson for the Islamic Consultative Assembly's principlist faction, reported yesterday on the reaction of Mohseni Ejei, the first deputy of the judiciary, to the remarks made by the Iranian Foreign Minister regarding money laundering. According to Naqavi Hosseini, Mohseni Ejei stated about Zarif's remarks: "These words and sentences are wrong in my personal opinion and are made by an official, and he must explain and provide his documents. I have written a letter and said that if these statements are from him, his explanations and documents should be obtained." Bahrām Ghasemi, in response to these remarks at his press conference today, said: "We have not received any request from Mr. Ejei, the respected spokesperson of the judiciary, so far. The statement of that respected representative again does not match reality and is probably based on a misunderstanding or delusion because one can only make such a claim if a claim has been sent to the Foreign Ministry, which has not happened." Bahrām Ghasemi emphasized that Mohammad Javad Zarif is not the first person to speak about money laundering as "a serious fundamental harm to Iran's economy," and his remarks were "clear and do not require further clarification." Mr. Ghasemi stated that the Iranian Foreign Minister did not accuse "any specific organization or individual" and expressed surprise at the "intense and strange" reactions to these remarks from some politicians. Mohammad Javad Zarif, in connection with the issue of money laundering, while implicitly referring to some governmental institutions, also stated that he does not accuse any institution of the Islamic Republic in this regard. These remarks led to protests from members of the Stability Front in the Iranian Parliament, and subsequently, some websites reported on Mr. Zarif's resignation. The commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and media affiliated with this institution, Friday prayer leaders, and other appointees of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic are the most serious opponents of the approval of bills related to the implementation of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) regulations. Meanwhile, the bill for Iran's accession to the Convention on Combating the Financing of Terrorism has recently been rejected by the Guardian Council. The "High Council for Monitoring the Implementation of General Policies of the System," which operates within the Expediency Discernment Council, has also raised objections to this bill. Opponents of Iran's accession to FATF regulations argue that this would block the way for financial assistance to "Hamas" and "Hezbollah of Lebanon." Proponents of Iran's accession to this treaty argue that its opponents fear economic transparency and preventing banking corruption. The Financial Action Task Force expressed regret on October 19 that most of the issues related to Iran's commitments remain unresolved, and at the same time extended Iran's suspension from the group's blacklist for another four months, which was welcomed by Iranian officials.