Following the explanations offered by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at the open session of Iranian Parliament on Sunday, the MPs voted that they have been convinced by the answers.
The Iranian diplomatic chief went to the Parliament to answer the questions posed by Javad Karimi Ghoddousi, MP from the Constituency of Mashhad, who is also a member of the Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, and Nader Ghazipour from the Constituency of Urmia.
The first question of Karimi Ghoddousi was on the visit of foreign minister Zarif to France. He asked why the FM travelled to France concurrent with the conference of MKO terrorist group in Paris. He accused Zarif of not considering the intelligence and security concerns before the visit.
The second question of the MP was why and how 4 dual citizens entered the Iranian negotiating delegation in the course of nuclear talks.
The third question was what the essence of “the band of New Yorkers” was. He implicated that the group was tasked with helping US to infiltrate in Iran after the victory of the Islamic Revolution. Karimi Ghoddousi enquired what Zarif’s role was in forming this group.
After Zarif offered answers on these three questions, Karimi Ghoddousi announced that he was not convinced with the answers and the Parliament collected votes to see if the MPs consider the questions valid or the responses convincing.
Out of 206 MPs present in the meeting 67 voted yes to the validity of questions, 119 voted against the questions and 9 abstained. As a result the questions were marked as invalid and the answers convincing.
Then Masoud Pezeshkian, the Iranian Parliament Deputy Speaker, said that Zarif has asked for another meeting to offer more explanation on some of the stuff brought up in the session including the video clip played in the session to prove that some members of the nuclear talks’ team of negotiation were dual citizens. Iranian intelligence ministry had already dismissed the validity of the claim.
“It should be clarified for the people that what was the procedure [for choosing the member so the team]. The Parliament does not approve of the questions posed by Mr. Karimi Ghodousi,” said Pezeshkian.
Pezeshkian was referring to a 5 minute video clip made by the intelligence department of the IRGC about the role of Abdolrasoul Dorri Esfehani in the course of nuclear talks.
The short documentary film asserts that Dorri Esfehani is a dual citizen who has been in contact with different foreign entities during the negotiations leading to the nuclear agreement of July 14, 2015.
Then Zarif answered the question about his attendance at the funeral ceremony of Jalal Talabani.
“The Supreme Council of National Security made the decision,a t the highest level, about my attendance at the funeral ceremony of the late Jalal Talabani,” said Mr. Zarif.
Zarif made the remarks in response to the question posed by Nader Ghazipour who accused the foreign minister of paying respect the flag of the Iraqi Kurdistan region.
“It was necessary to represent the Islamic Republic of Iran at the ceremony and my attendance was approved by IRGC’s Qods Force, the Iranian Armed Forces and the foreign ministry,” he recounted.
“With the warm reception offered to the Islamic Republic of Iran in this ceremony, it was proved to all that the Islamic Republic of Iran had a high status in the Iraqi Kurdistan in the time that a small group were trying to make Iraqi Kurdistan a separatist,” Zarif asserted.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran will never forget its friends who fought against Saddam along with Iranians in the course of the 8 year imposed war,” he said referring to Jalal Talabani, who led militias against Saddam’s dictatorship.
“During this event, I was standing by the Iraqi president and most of the Iraqi MPs including Mr. Hakim, There were a few Iraqi MPs who did not attend the ceremony,” he continued.
“In the course of the ceremony, an abuse occurred and against the agreements reached between the KRG and the government of Iraq and instead of using the flag of the Iraq, the flag of Iraqi Kurdistan was used. However, nobody left the ceremony,” he highlighted.
“In the ceremony of placing wreathes of flowers on the coffin of late Talabani, I was the only person who did not bow to the corpse and the other people attending the event bowed in another way,” he reiterated that he has not paid tribute to the flag.
“I was attending the event beside the commanders of IRGC and this made a very good impression on the people of Iraqi Kurdistan,” he highlighted.
“Despite Iran’s opposition with the separationist referendum of Iraqi Kurdistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran attended the funeral ceremony of Talabani to show that it holds deep bonds with the people of Iraqi Kurdistan,” he maintained.
Nader Ghazipour criticized Foreign Minister Zarif for attending the funeral ceremony of former Iraqi President Jalal Talabani in Iraqi Kurdistan.
“No country, whether neighboring or non-neighboring, and even Iraqi legal individuals attended the funeral ceremony of Mr. Talabani. This event was held a week after the referendum of Iraqi Kurdistan which was plotted by the Zionist regime,” Ghazipour underlined.
“Mr. Jalal Talabani was the president of Iraq and you were supposed to attend his funeral in Baghdad but you went to Iraqi Kurdistan contrary with the diplomatic norms, while the basket was covered with the flag of the Iraqi Kurdistan. Why did you pay respect to this flag,” Ghazipour interrogated Mr. Zarif.
Mr. Zarif took part at an event which was participated by the heads of anti-Revolution figures. These people were involved in the murder of the youth of our country and our country is attacked under this flag,” he lashed out at Zarif’s attendance at the funeral ceremony.
“We must use our diplomatic capacities to eradicate the bases of the anti-Revolution forces along the borders of Iran,” he called for serious diplomacy against PJAK terrorist group which stages terrorist attacks on Iranian borders and checkpoints.
Ghazipour then held Zarif accountable for the negative role of Erbil and Sulaymaniyeh in Iranian foreign exchange market.
Then Zarif answered that he is a practitioner of the policies decided by the Supreme Council of the National Security.
“The Iran-Iraq relations are multilateral and broad relations defined by the Supreme Council of the National Security and I am one of those responsible to put these policies in practice,” he added.
“My attendance at the funeral ceremony was in line with the policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in opposition with disintegration of Iraqi Kurdistan,” Zarif reassured.
“Representatives from many countries and regions of the world were present in the ceremony,” he highlighted.
“We can’t forget that Mr. Talabani fought against Ba’athists beside Iranian warriors and we should not forget our companions because of the crimes committed by others,” he maintained.
“What happened in Sulaymaniyeh was in accordance with the decision of the Iraqi government and no other ceremony was held for Mr. Talabani in Baghdad and have never bowed to any flag other than of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he asserted.
“Our economic relations with Iraq is at its best level and our exports to Iraq is much more than any neighboring country of Iraq,” he said.
Zarif then referred to the convention on the legal regime of the Caspian Sea and said, “The convention of the Caspian Sea was one of the marks of honor for the Islamic Republic of Iran and whenever I find an opportunity to address this issue I will explain how this document of pride was drafted.”
Finally Ghazipour announced that he has been convinced by the answers provided by Mr. Zarif and no voting was held.
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