Hardliners Draw a Line for Pezeshkian
The hardliners’ attacks on Pezeshkian began during the 14th presidential election campaign when Mohammad Javad Zarif joined Masoud Pezeshkian’s campaign team. These attacks, both in the media and society, intensified when Pezeshkian appointed Zarif as the head of the 14th government’s steering council for selecting proposed ministers. This escalation only slightly subsided when Zarif’s complaint and resignation letter regarding the ministers’ names were published.
However, with Zarif’s return to the 14th government team and his appointment as the strategic deputy to the president, this faction’s artillery against him and Pezeshkian became even more active.
This group used any excuse and platform to criticize Pezeshkian and Zarif. Recently, besides the topic of the JCPOA and the negotiating team’s decisions to revive it during Zarif’s tenure at the Foreign Ministry, they have also raised discussions about his dual nationality.
Although Zarif provided a detailed explanation on this matter and stated that his inquiries for the deputy position were positively assessed by various agencies, following Israel’s assassinations, alongside the jabs at the government, Zarif’s name was mentioned as an influential figure in what they deemed a passive response. After Iran’s missile response to Israel, and with that excuse gone, they once again disregarded the responses given and focused on the illegality of Zarif’s appointment, threatening the government and the president.
An example is the recent remarks by Kamran Ghazanfari, a member of parliament and the Stability Front, known for his strange and hardline statements. He had previously accused Hassan Rouhani of providing information about the Ukrainian plane to the U.S.
Ghazanfari, in an interview with Eghtesad 120, stated that when Mr. Pezeshkian, aware of the law, appoints Mr. Zarif, whose two children have U.S. citizenship, as the strategic deputy to the president, he is openly committing a crime. Members of parliament have warned several times that what you are doing is against the law.
Zarif also, by posting a tweet, pretended to have resigned when in fact there was no resignation, and he was acting. After the cabinet vote, he happily published a text saying he had returned to his work.
He further added that the claim of this issue being resolved in the meeting of the heads of the branches is false. The heads of the branches do not have the authority to do something against the law. In parliament, we warn Pezeshkian that if he does not quickly revoke this illegal appointment, we will file a complaint with the judiciary.
In this case, Pezeshkian will have to answer in court, and he certainly has no answer, leading to a 5 to 15-year deprivation of social rights. If this happens, Mr. Pezeshkian will effectively be removed from the presidency.
Throughout these days, there have been reactions to these claims about Zarif. Now, regarding Ghazanfari’s remarks, Ahmad Zeidabadi, a writer and political analyst, has provided a comprehensive and thoughtful response to this representative and those pursuing Zarif’s removal.
In a Telegram note titled ‘Hurry, There’s No Need for Divination,’ he wrote: I think Mr. Ghazanfari and his friends should stop hesitating and do this as soon as possible because, in that case, at least three problems will be solved. The first problem is that Pezeshkian will be saved from the torment of walking on the minefield of Pasteur and can spend the rest of his life peacefully drinking cold water in the cozy corner of a prison.
Secondly, the citizens who voted for him in the recent elections will be relieved from the psychological pressure of all the blame, sarcasm, and insults from their surroundings and can take a fresh breath.
Thirdly, as the crisis in the Middle East approaches its peak, many people are interested in seeing the government under the full control of Mr. Ghazanfari and his friends to see what they have up their sleeves after all those deafening slogans. Therefore, my recommendation is that they hurry in doing what they have promised because it is said that in good deeds, neither delay is permissible nor divination necessary.