Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sunday requested "forgiveness" from the family of Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of the Quds Force in the Revolutionary Guard, after a leaked audio recording of him discussing the military leader's significant role in foreign policy "hurt their feelings," sparking widespread controversy in Iran.
A week ago, external media published the three-hour recording in which Zarif talks about Soleimani, who was assassinated in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad last year, and mentions that the military field takes precedence over diplomacy in Iran.
Zarif stated in a post on his Instagram account that the leak "hurt the sincere feelings of Soleimani's loved ones and family, especially his daughter Zaynab." He added, "I have forgiven all those I believe have accused me... and I hope the great people of Iran, all the admirers of the Sardar (the title for senior officers in the Guard), and especially the noble Soleimani family will also forgive me."
Zaynab Soleimani had shared a photo on her Twitter account on Tuesday showing her father's hand shortly after his assassination near Baghdad Airport on January 3, 2020, in a U.S. airstrike, accompanying it with the comment: "the cost (paid) by the field for diplomacy."
The release of the recording, coming less than two months before the presidential elections and amid negotiations with major international powers to revive the agreement regarding Tehran's nuclear program, drew criticism from conservatives opposing President Hassan Rouhani's government.
In the recording, according to the U.S. newspaper "The New York Times," Zarif stated, "In Iran, the military field is in charge... I sacrificed diplomacy for the military field instead of having the military serve diplomacy."
The Iranian government has called for an investigation into the "conspiracy" behind the leak of the recording. On Thursday, the local news agency "IRNA" reported that Hossamodin Ashna, the head of the Strategic Studies Center linked to the Iranian presidency, who is close to Rouhani, submitted his resignation following the leak of the conversation with Zarif.
