A former Iranian ambassador to Moscow also hinted that the foreign ministry may have been kept in the dark by both the Kremlin and the Iranian military. Iran has denied for more than two months that it sold the drones to Russia despite their use to target power plants and civilian infrastructure, but at the weekend said it had supplied a small number of drones before the war began, an explanation that has rejected. from the USA and Ukraine. The drone controversy reflects a broader foreign policy debate in Tehran about the risks of developing close ties with Moscow. It is also unusual in that the criticism of Iran’s government comes from a conservative cleric and a newspaper publisher. In statements picked up by other Iranian newspapers, Masih Mohajeri, writing on the front page of the Jomhouri-e-Islami newspaper, highlighted three things the government should have done: advise the party that started the war, namely Russia, to abide by international regulations prohibiting trespassing on the territory of other countries; told Russia at the start of the war that it had no right to use drones in Ukraine provided by Iran; maintained stronger relations with the country it had invaded. Addressing Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, he added: “Why didn’t you announce to Russia after the start of the war in Ukraine that it has no right to use Iranian drones in the war in Ukraine? Furthermore, why didn’t you openly condemn Russia for starting the war and why didn’t you make a double effort to mediate between the two sides to end this evil war?” He said Iran could play that role without damaging its relations with Russia. Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. Photo: Wana News Agency/Reuters Abdollahian over the weekend ended weeks of controversy in Iran over drones by admitting – standing next to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin on the sidelines of an international conference – that it had provided a small number of drones before the war. He said that if it was proved by Ukraine that its drones were used in war, Iran would not be indifferent. Ukraine believes Moscow has acquired 2,400 drones from Iran, including the distinctive triangular Shahed-136 “kamikaze” drone that explodes on impact. Mohageri described the foreign minister’s change of attitude as a “good omen” in an article in the newspaper. “You still have time to change policy on the war in Ukraine,” he said. “You shouldn’t put all your eggs in the Russian basket. This method contradicts the “neither east nor west” policy, which is the core of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s foreign policy. He added: “The least Iran could do in the war in Ukraine was to first negotiate with both sides by forming a mediation committee to get them to agree to a ceasefire and an end to the war. In the days leading up to the war, Tehran could announce to Moscow that it has no right to use the drones provided by Iran in the war against Ukraine.” Robert Malley, the US special envoy for Iran, rejected Iran’s admission. “The evidence is clear: drones sold to Russia are being used against Ukrainian civilians. Perhaps Iran’s leaders thought they could escape the consequences of covertly aiding Russia’s brutal aggression, but they could not.” A former Iranian ambassador to Moscow, Nematollah Izadi, said there appeared to be a lack of proper cooperation between the military and diplomatic wings of the Iranian state, possibly leaving the foreign ministry in the dark. It appeared that one part of the government found it profitable to sell drones to Moscow for use in war or otherwise, Izadi said, and “it appears that we have succumbed to a deception operation by Russia, which, in my opinion, does not serve the national our interests”. But an unofficial adviser to Iran’s negotiating team on the future of the Iran nuclear deal, Seyed Mohammad Marandi, explained opposition to Ukraine within sections of the regime, criticizing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for sending congratulations to the newly elected Israeli government. “When Zelensky says ‘real democracy in action’ and that the two regimes ‘share common values,’ he means that both treat Russian-subjugated Ukrainians and the indigenous population of Palestine with similar racial contempt,” he tweeted. Anti-regime street protests that began after the September death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by police for allegedly violating the country’s strict hijab law, appeared to be slowing down, but over the weekend two winners of Iranian international sports teams – the Iranian beach soccer team and the wrestling team – refused to celebrate their victories. The scorer of Iran’s decisive goal in the Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup final against Brazil symbolically cut his hair after his shot went into the net in an apparent show of solidarity with female protesters. Many of the spectators in Dubai either booed the national anthem or chanted against the government outside the stadium. Fierce debate is raging within the regime over the appropriate response to the protests, ranging from some conservative MPs calling for executions to others calling for self-reflection on how the principles of the revolution have lost their validity by a generation. Some leaders frankly admit to embarrassment. Tourism and Culture Minister Ezzatollah Zarghami said on Sunday that one of the interrogators of the thousands of detained protesters admitted he did not understand them. “I have interrogated major political figures for a lifetime and in the last few days I have interrogated hundreds of people,” Zarghami said the interrogator told him. “This was my most difficult interrogation because I don’t understand what they say and they don’t understand what I say. No matter how hard I try, I can’t.”
