Russian Ambassador to Tehran Urges Iranian People Not to Listen to "Radio Farda"

In response to news reports about Russia's request for guarantees for the JCPOA, the Russian ambassador to Iran said: "We call on the Iranian people not to listen to statements from foreign radio stations such as Radio Farda."

In an interview with Tasnim news agency on Monday, March 6, Levan Jagarian, close to the Revolutionary Guard, said, without elaborating on the details of Russia's request, that "there has been a misunderstanding and we will provide the necessary explanations to the Iranian side through diplomatic sources."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on March 4 that the United States must provide written guarantees that the new sanctions imposed on Moscow due to its invasion of Ukraine will not have a negative impact on Iran-Russia trade relations after the JCPOA is revived.

France called this request "blackmail" from the JCPOA negotiations, and the United States has said that the Russian request is "irrelevant."

The Tehran-based newspaper Jomhuri Eslami also wrote in a report today that Russia's request "could practically prevent the Vienna JCPOA negotiations from reaching a conclusion," describing it as "taking the JCPOA hostage by Russia."

In addition to the Russian ambassador to Iran's attacks on Radio Farda, in recent days the Russian government has also intensified its pressure on Radio Free Europe, of which Radio Farda is a part, and has blocked users inside Russia from accessing Radio Free Europe's Russian-language news services.

According to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's executives, the media outlet has suspended its operations in Russia following pressure from the Russian government's tax administration and increased police crackdowns on journalists.

The Russian ambassador to Iran has a history of criticizing Radio Farda. In June of last year, in response to the publication of several analytical notes on Radio Farda, Levan Jagaryan accused the media outlet of "trying to harm the friendly relations between Iran and Russia."

In an interview published in the Tehran-based newspaper "Etemad" on June 17, 2018, he criticized the publication of this material while displaying a picture of the note published on Radio Farda on his mobile phone screen.

In that series of notes that angered the Russian ambassador, Reza Alijani, a political activist and analyst of Iranian issues, examined the issue of Russian influence in the IRGC's intelligence organization in four sections.

Also, the recent publication of news of the Russian ambassador in Tehran paying homage to the monument to Alexander Griboyedov, the initiator of the Turkmenchay Treaty, in Persian-language media abroad, including Radio Farda, angered the Russian embassy in Tehran, which called the information "provocative."

In this context, on February 13, the Russian Embassy in Tehran described the publication of news about this event in Persian-language media abroad as "provocative" and "aimed at undermining friendly and sincere relations" between Russia and Iran.

Griboyedov, who had somehow become one of the Russian military commanders in the Caucasus during the Iran-Russia war of 1826-1828, had prepared the Treaty of Turkmenchay. Given that this treaty led to the loss of large parts of Iranian territory, there has always been serious negative sensitivities about his name in Iranian public opinion.

Alexander Griboyedov was killed about 200 years ago, on February 11, 1829 (Bahman 1206) during an attack by protesters on the Russian embassy in Tehran.

In recent days, in addition to Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, which was met with widespread opposition on social media, a rally in front of the Ukrainian embassy in Tehran, and the slogan "Death to Putin and Putin's supporters," Russia's approach to the JCPOA negotiations has also faced harsh criticism.

Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's top envoy during the JCPOA revival talks in Vienna, said in an interview published on March 5 by the state-run IRNA news agency: "I am saddened when I see many assessments in the mainstream Iranian media and social networks that Russia is against Iran, that Russia is an enemy of Iran and is against the nuclear deal."

Source: Radio Farda