Iranian foreign minister sorry for leaked comments

Zarif had spoken against Iranian Gen. Soleimani who was killed by a US drones strike in 2020. Pic/AFP

Iran's foreign minister apologised on Sunday for recorded comments that were leaked to the public last week, creating a firestorm in Iran less than two months before presidential elections.

The recordings of Mohammad Javad Zarif included frank comments on powerful late Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed by a US drone strike in 2020. The attack at the time brought the US and Iran to the brink of war. Soleimani's funeral processions in Iran drew millions of people to the streets.

In the recordings, Zarif criticizes Soleimani's separate relations with Russia and his refusal to stop using the national carrier Iran Air for Syrian operations despite Zarif's objections. Iran Air has been sanctioned by the US.

Zarif said in an Instagram post Sunday he hoped Soleimani's family would forgive him. "I hope that the great people of Iran and all the lovers of General (Soleimani) and especially the great family of Soleimani, will forgive me," he said.

Besides the criticism of Soleimani, a top commander in the Guard, Zarif's leaked remarks included cutting references to the limits of his power in the theocracy.

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