Iran’s President: Leaked Recording Aimed at Disrupting Unity

Speaking at a cabinet session on Wednesday, Rouhani said the “dirtiest” TV channel that is sponsored by Saudi Arabia and is working against Islam and Iran has released a confidential audio recording of Zarif in order to disrupt the Iranian society’s unity and foment division.

“The audio tape has been released by those who are against Iran, people of Iran and the interests of Iran at the exact juncture that (JCPOA negotiations in) Vienna is at the height of success, in order to create division in the country,” the president added.

He also said that the Zionist regime, the US, and regional reactionary regimes are angry about Iran’s success, because they have lost what they had been plotting for four years.

Today, the remaining parties to the 2015 nuclear deal and the Americans have realized that they have no option but to surrender to international law and acknowledge Iran’s rightfulness, Rouhani added.

On the contents of the leaked recording, he explained that the comments expressed in the audio do not necessarily reflect the views of the administration and the president.

Rouhani also emphasized that “diplomacy and field” are not two separate or contradictory areas of action.

He further paid tribute to late Iranian commander Lt. General Qassem Soleimani saying that he was “the best adviser” for the administration in the foreign policy in the region, and that the revered commander managed to foil the Zionist and American plots in the region.

The leaked interview, first published by Saudi-sponsored TV channel Iran International, includes more than three hours of audio from Zarif’s interview in March with Iranian journalist and economist Saeed Laylaz.

Iranian officials said the interview was part of an oral history project compiled by the Presidential Office’s Center for Strategic Studies.