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iranwire – A senior Iranian parliamentarian has called for the judicial prosecution of former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif after he criticized Russia’s policies toward Iran, escalating political feuding between hardline and moderate factions.
Abbas Goudarzi, spokesperson for parliament’s presiding board, said the judiciary should pursue Zarif and accused former President Hassan Rouhani of “pouring water into the enemy’s mill” with critical remarks about the government.
The controversy stems from comments Zarif made at a university gathering, where he said, “Moscow has two red lines: Iran must not reach calm relations with the world, and must not be dragged into conflict.”
He added that Russia had proposed resolutions at the U.N. Security Council that Tehran found “very unfavorable” and rejected.
Rouhani, who served as president from 2013 to 2021, recently said in a video that Iran’s parliament has “minimal legitimacy” and cannot make decisions for “90 per cent of the people who oppose the laws.”
The comments sparked angry reactions from conservative lawmakers.
Goudarzi told the Tasnim news agency that Rouhani “seems to crave attention” and headed “the most ineffective government in Islamic Republic history.”
He accused Rouhani of tying Iran’s future to the 2015 nuclear deal, which led to “halting the country’s capacities.”
The parliament spokesperson defended Russia and China, saying they “stand with the Islamic Republic and with right and truth” against U.S. unilateralism and European actions.
He accused former officials of favoring the West while in office but now “throwing stones in the wheels” of current foreign policy.
Hardline members of parliament have recently chanted “Death to Fereydoun” – Rouhani’s middle name – and called for trials of the former president and his foreign minister.
Rouhani and Zarif negotiated the 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers, which conservative factions opposed.
That deal collapsed last month after the UK, France, and Germany, also known as the E3, said Tehran had failed to comply with the agreement and that sanctions lifted 10 years ago would be reimposed.
