Zarif Was Unaware of Assad's Visit: 'This Ignorance Was Maintained Until the End of the Trip'

A week after Mohammad Javad Zarif's resignation and speculation about its reasons, the spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry confirmed that Mr. Zarif's action was a reaction to Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad's visit without the Foreign Ministry's knowledge. According to ISNA news agency on Tuesday, March 14, quoting Bahram Qasemi, the Iranian Foreign Ministry was 'unaware' of Bashar al-Assad's trip to Tehran from beginning to end. Mr. Qasemi stated, 'A limited number of people, aside from the Foreign Minister, could have known about it, and the Foreign Ministry was not informed at any level, and this ignorance was maintained until the end of the trip.' The spokesperson referred to this as 'a bitter reality.' The spokesperson's explanation regarding the minister's resignation on March 6 confirms the speculation that had been raised from the beginning, indicating the unawareness of this ministry and even the government of Hassan Rouhani about Bashar al-Assad's trip to Iran. In his first comment after the sudden resignation, Mohammad Javad Zarif expressed hope that his action would serve as a 'wake-up call' and restore the Foreign Ministry to its 'legal position.' A day later, in response to Mr. Zarif's resignation, Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, also came forward to console the Iranian Foreign Minister. According to Soleimani, there was no 'intentional' absence of Mr. Zarif during the meeting with Bashar al-Assad. The commander of the Quds Force's statement and his involvement in this matter indicate that Mr. Zarif's absence or unawareness of Bashar al-Assad's meetings in Tehran was at least one of the reasons for his unexpected resignation. This was a point previously mentioned by Gholamali Jafarzadeh, the deputy head of the Independent faction in Parliament, in an interview with the Etemad Online website: 'Perhaps the unawareness of Bashar al-Assad's trip to Tehran influenced Mr. Zarif's resignation, but [this] is not the only reason.' In the meeting between the Syrian President and the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic in Tehran, which took place last Monday, Hassan Rouhani, the President, was absent. Furthermore, neither Mohammad Javad Zarif nor any other official from the Iranian Foreign Ministry was present in the photos released from the meeting between Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, with Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, and Hassan Rouhani on Monday. The absence of a Foreign Ministry official at such a meeting contradicts all accepted diplomatic principles in the world. According to Bahram Qasemi, 'One of the reasons for Dr. Zarif's resignation was this type of coordination issues with the Foreign Ministry.' As reported by ISNA, Mr. Qasemi had previously hinted at this by stating, 'My intention with this sentence was that 'those who needed to be informed about the trip were informed and carried out their program well,' which actually referred to a bitter reality in this matter.' Hours after his resignation was rejected by the President on Wednesday, March 8, Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote a short note stating that he would remain in this position as 'the person responsible for advancing foreign policy.'