Rally and slogans against Zarif and negotiations with the US in front of the Iranian Foreign Ministry
“Students, scholars, and the public” gathered to protest Zarif’s statements about the possibility of negotiations with the United States even after the killing of Qassem Soleimani and demanded his resignation. The Foreign Ministry also issued a statement defending Zarif’s “principled positions.”
Fars News Agency reported that on Monday evening, January 27, students, scholars, and the public gathered in front of the Foreign Ministry building to protest Zarif's statements about "the possibility of negotiations with America even after the killing of Qassem Soleimani."
The protesters chanted slogans and declared their opposition to any negotiations with the United States and called on Zarif to apologize to the people for his recent statements.
The protesters carried signs that read: “Mr. Zarif, which country’s Foreign Minister are you?” and “Shameless Zarif, leave the Foreign Ministry!”
Protesters chanted: "Negotiating with the enemy is stabbing the homeland," and "We don't want an American government."
The protesters also burned the American flag.
Media outlets close to the IRGC also reported that “students, scholars, and people” in Mashhad, Qom, and Tabriz were also scheduled to hold rallies in this regard.
What did Zarif say in the interview with Der Spiegel?
The protest rally in front of the Foreign Ministry building is a response to remarks made by the Iranian Foreign Minister in an interview with the German weekly Der Spiegel. In the interview, Zarif said that negotiations with the United States were possible even after the killing of Qassem Soleimani. The interview was published in Der Spiegel on Friday, January 24.
In part of the interview, Zarif responded to Der Spiegel's question about whether negotiations with the US would continue after Soleimani's killing: "It doesn't matter to us who is in power in the White House. What matters is their behavior. The Trump administration can correct its behavior, lift the sanctions, and return to the negotiating table. We are still at the negotiating table, but they have left the table. The US has inflicted great suffering on the Iranian people. The day will come when they will have to make up for it. We are patient."
Zarif's remarks also prompted a reaction from US President Donald Trump. Trump tweeted that he rejected the Iranian foreign minister's statements regarding the "possibility of negotiations after the killing of Soleimani," writing: "No, thank you."
Despite Trump's rejection of negotiations, the "tweet exchange" between Zarif and Trump surprised analysts, who considered it an unprecedented "Twitter exchange and debate."
Statement from the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Simultaneously with this rally, a statement was issued by the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The statement defended Mohammad Javad Zarif's "principled positions" in an interview with Der Spiegel. The statement also emphasized that creating a "negotiation-non-negotiation" bipolarity in the current foreign policy and domestic electoral climate would have a detrimental effect on the country's national interests and public trust in society.
The statement said that the United States is trying to portray Iran as "anti-negotiating," while the State Department has defended "legal negotiations within the framework of the Joint Commission of the JCPOA against negotiations outside the JCPOA that the lawless US government is seeking."
Without mentioning the protest rally in front of the ministry building, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that sometimes "superior institutions" promote incorrect perceptions of the performance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which unfortunately "are abused by the media and political institutions of those who have ill-wishers for Iran."
Source: DW
