Iran’s Foreign Minister, In Leaked Tape, Says Revolutionary Guard Sets Policies

Iran’s Foreign Minister, In Leaked Tape, Says Revolutionary Guard Sets Policies

In one extraordinary moment on the tape that surfaced Sunday, Zarif departed from the reverential official line on Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Guard's elite Quds Force, the foreign-facing arm of Iran’s security apparatus, who was killed by the United States in January 2020. In a leaked audiotape that offers a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes power struggles of Iranian leaders, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the Revolutionary Guard call the shots, overruling many government decisions and ignoring advice. In one extraordinary moment on the tape that surfaced Sunday, Zarif departed from the reverential official line on Gen. Qassem Soleimani , the commander of the Guard's elite Quds Force, the foreign-facing arm of Iran’s security apparatus, who was killed by the United States in January 2020. The general, Zarif said, undermined him at many steps, working with Russia to sabotage the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers and adopting policies toward S…