Zarif's Strong Response to Mashhad Representative's Questions and Conservative Representatives' Protests

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's strong response to questions from Jawad Karimi Qodousi, the representative of Mashhad, during a public session of the parliament on Sunday led to protests from several conservative representatives, who deemed Zarif's remarks as an "insult" to Karimi Qodousi. Zarif was present to answer questions from Karimi Qodousi and Mohammad Reza Pour-Ebrahimi, the representative of Kerman, on October 3. In response to Karimi Qodousi's question regarding the dismissal of the Deputy Minister for Arab and African Affairs at the request of Arab countries, Zarif urged Karimi Qodousi not to play with the reputation of the Islamic Republic for childish interests. Zarif addressed the Mashhad representative, asking, "Who reported the private conversation between Samadi and Amir-Abdollahian to you? How dare you speak falsely in the parliament?" He added, "With such accusations, you allow the enemy to have the audacity to speak nonsense; it is impossible for us to act regarding the change of our colleagues to send messages to this or that party." Zarif had previously labeled critics' comments regarding the dismissal of Hossein Amir-Abdollahian as an "insult to the Islamic Republic," stating that "no one in the region or beyond has dared to make such a request from Islamic Iran." Conservative media had previously accused Hassan Rouhani's government of taking this action at the request of Arab countries in the Persian Gulf, thereby weakening the "axis of resistance." Amir-Abdollahian was dismissed on June 20, and Hossein Jaberi Ansari replaced him. According to Fars News Agency, after Zarif's remarks, several conservative parliament members shouted that "you insulted the representatives," but the foreign minister asserted that he had "no intention" of insulting Karimi Qodousi. Ali Motahari, the chairman of the public session, remarked that "the statements from the foreign minister in the public session might be perceived as humiliating to the parliament and its representatives, and therefore, words should not be used that diminish the parliament's authority." Motahari noted that Zarif had informed the parliament's presiding board in a note that his statements did not contain any insult to the representatives, but he would apologize if anyone felt insulted. In the ninth parliament, there had also been verbal clashes between the foreign minister and conservative representatives, including Mehdi Koochakzadeh and Jawad Karimi Qodousi. For instance, on April 5, 2015, a session of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission regarding the Lausanne agreement led to a "verbal clash" between Zarif and Karimi Qodousi. Regarding another question from the Mashhad representative about the Holocaust exhibition, Zarif stated that this exhibition "aids in the victimization narrative" of Israel and "does not help the Palestinian people." Furthermore, according to IRNA, Zarif announced that he had not condemned the holding of this exhibition in his previous remarks, only stating that it was organized by a non-governmental entity. He added, "As the foreign minister, I have neither intervened nor do I consider it appropriate to engage in this matter." In May, the second international Holocaust caricature exhibition and competition was held in Tehran. The Iranian foreign minister stated in response to international media inquiries that the Iranian government has no connection to this exhibition. The U.S. State Department, the Washington Holocaust Museum, and UNESCO condemned the holding of the Holocaust caricature exhibition and competition in Iran. In contrast, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, expressed gratitude for the exhibition's organization. After the foreign minister's remarks, Jawad Karimi Qodousi stated that he was not satisfied with Zarif's answers, and his responses were put to a vote. After the voting concluded, Ali Motahari, the chairman of the public session, announced that the parliament members found Zarif's responses satisfactory.