UPDATE - Iran's Zarif apologizes for leaked comments

UPDATES WITH REMARKS BY SUPREME LEADER, REVISES DECK

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) - Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Sunday apologized for his leaked comments that stirred controversy in Iran.

Writing on his Instagram account, Zarif asked forgiveness from the family of former Iranian general Qassim Soleimani, who was killed in January 2020 in a US drone attack.

"I hope that the great people of Iran, all General [Soleimani]'s lovers and especially the great family of Soleimani, will forgive me," Zarif wrote.

The top diplomat said his comments on Soleimani do not undermine his role in securing Iran. "If I had known a sentence from those words would have been made public, I certainly would not have said them," he added.

A London-based media outlet leaked a seven-hour audio recording of Zarif last week, stirring controversy in Iran, with many lawmakers and former officials demanding he resign.

Zarif said in the recording that Soleimani was working with Russia to oppose the Iranian nuclear deal.

He also said in the recording that Iran is ruled by the "military field."

A top aide of President Hassan Rouhani on Thursday tendered his resignation in the wake of growing backlash over the leak.

Hesamuddin Ashena, who headed the Center for Strategic Studies, an influential policy group under the presidential office, was replaced with government spokesman Ali Rabaie.

Rouhani had on Wednesday distanced himself and his government from Zarif's remarks, and vowed stern action against those who helped in leaking the audio to a foreign TV network.

- 'Big mistake'

In his first reaction since the controversial audio caused a furor in the country, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said Zarif's remarks in it were a "big mistake."

In a televised speech, Khamenei said the comments were "regrettable" and "should not have been made," without referring to Zarif by name.

He described the Quds Force, the extraterritorial wing of Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) that answers directly to him, as a diplomatic wing of Iran's West Asia policy.

Some of the remarks in the audio were a "repetition of what Iran's enemies say," said Khamenei, adding that the Iranian officials "should not make our enemies happy."

He underlined that the Foreign Ministry was only responsible for implementing the decisions of higher-ranking bodies.

In his response to Khamenei's speech, Zarif said the Khamenei's "compassionate remarks" to him and his colleagues were the "last and end point" to the discussion. He further said that he would work together with other officials in "fully implementing the views" of the supreme leader.

Zarif, who is back from a four-nation regional tour, is expected to appear before the parliament's internal security and foreign affairs commission to explain his remarks in the leaked audio.

*Ahmed Asmar in Ankara contributed to this report