Soleimani: There Was No Intentional Absence of Dr. Zarif in Meeting with Assad

In response to Mohammad Javad Zarif's resignation, Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, addressed the issue on Wednesday morning, March 8. Soleimani stated that there was no 'intentional' reason for Zarif's absence in the meeting with Bashar Assad. According to Soleimani, 'there was no intention for Dr. Zarif's absence in this meeting,' emphasizing that he is the main responsible figure for the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Soleimani's remarks indicate that Zarif's absence or lack of awareness regarding Assad's meetings in Tehran was at least one of the reasons for his unexpected resignation. This was previously noted by Gholamali Jafarzadeh, the deputy head of the Independent Fraction in Parliament, who mentioned that Zarif's unawareness of Assad's trip to Tehran may have influenced his resignation, but it is not the only reason. In the meeting between the Syrian president and the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Hassan Rouhani was also absent. Neither Zarif nor any other official from the Foreign Ministry was present in the photos released from the meeting between Assad, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and Rouhani. The absence of a Foreign Ministry official in such a meeting contradicts all accepted diplomatic principles worldwide. However, it was not only Zarif's absence that was notable; Soleimani's presence was also significant, especially highlighted by his seating arrangement during the meeting with Rouhani and Assad. Soleimani defended the absent Zarif, stating that he is 'the responsible figure for the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran and has always been supported and endorsed by the high-ranking officials of the system, especially the Supreme Leader.' He further explained that 'some administrative miscoordination' in the presidency led to Zarif's absence and subsequent grievances. Soleimani added that 'administrative negligence' contributed to the 'miscoordination' in the Iranian presidency, a point previously mentioned by Hesamoddin Ashna, an advisor to Rouhani, in a tweet. While Soleimani limited the discussion to Zarif's grievances regarding Assad's visit, Jafarzadeh and a few other representatives indicated that the issue does not end there. Jafarzadeh stated, 'Parallel actions, including dozens of trips and negotiations without coordination, are the reason for this resignation.' Zarif himself, in an interview with the Jomhouri Eslami newspaper conducted a week prior but published a day after his resignation news, provided explanations regarding his dissatisfaction. He stated, 'First of all, we must remove foreign policy from the subject of party and factional disputes. The deadly poison for foreign policy is turning it into a subject of party and factional disputes. There must be national trust in the foreign policy operators. Without trust in the foreign policy operators, everything is lost.' The head of the president's office and the spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry announced that Hassan Rouhani did not agree to Zarif's resignation.