Tehran, Iran, December 11
By Mehdi Sepahvand – Trend:
Seven Iranian lawmakers have moved to question Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif over his relaxing policies on Syria over the past few months.
The complaint has been handed over to the presiding board of the Parliament to be put on agenda for a session with the foreign minister, Mehr news agency reported December 11.
The most important question in the draft is why Zarif recalled Ambassador Mohammad Reza Rauf Sheybani from Syria.
In a written warning last week, 10 MPs criticized Zarif for him taking so long to name a fill-in for Sheybani, whose legal term in Syria ended a few weeks ago.
In today’s question, the seven MPs have also showed indignation with Zarif’s removing Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, former deputy foreign minister for African and Arab affairs, from his post a few months ago.
They go on to accuse Zarif of making the moves “to give advantage to some current,” adding, “the Foreign Ministry’s policy is defending the resistance current is seriously questionable.”
Iran is the staunch supporter of the legal government in Syria, now headed by President Bashar Assad.
Tehran has condemned any terrorist move to change the future of Syria, in devastating conflict since 2011, instead calling for free, democratic elections where real Syrian individuals decide their fate.
The chances of impeaching Zarif are scanty, however, as he became immensely popular in Iran after he hammered out a long-desired nuclear deal with the group 5+1 (the US, UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany) in 2015.