Putting Up With
How much longer can Ahmadinejad and FM Mottaki get along?
The row between the government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has moved into a new phase these days. Although Ahmadinejad withdrew his controversial decision to appoint special diplomatic representatives by relegating them to diplomatic advisors, the rift caused by his initial decision remains wide.
A few hours before his visit to New York to attend the UN General Assembly, Ahmadinejad said in his interview with Iran Daily, the official organ of the government, that “foreign diplomacy is not formulated in the foreign ministry. Although the foreign ministry puts forward suggestions, but in fact it is the enforcer of foreign diplomacy, that is, the great load of materializing diplomatic decisions falls in the authority of the ministry of foreign affairs. Of course, it is also the center for coordination of external activities, although unfortunately there are organizations that act without coordinating.” (INN, Saturday, 18th of September 2010)
The Iranian president added that “the shift in Iran’s foreign policy viewpoint should institutionalized in the foreign ministry. After all, for several years this ministry has moved in line with global equations [which Ahmadinejad outspokenly criticizes]; now it is time to bring about change. Of course, some changes have started and I hope they progress fast.” He spoke of his decision to transform the structure, organization and ranking system in the foreign ministry and a shift in diplomatic language and evaluation [system] of the ministry.
In response to his assessment of the ministry’s record, Ahmadinejad gave an equivocal response, fueling the rumors about his disagreement with Manouchehr Mottaki, Minister of Foreign Affairs. The president said that in foreign policy, they all helped each other and pushed their plans forward.
Unlike Ahmadinejad, who has not denied his dissatisfaction with the ministry’s record, Mottaki has tried to practice restraint regarding his dissatisfaction with ongoing diplomatic developments. His only reaction was to Hamid Baqa’ee’s [Head of the Organization of Cultural Heritage and one of Ahmadinejad’s recently appointed special representatives] remarks (calling the death of hundreds of thousands of Armenians during WWI a ‘genocide’), only after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei directly criticized parallel moves in foreign diplomacy.
His reticence, however, has not curbed the critical comments of the president’s cabal; people such as Ali-Akbar Javanfekr, Ahmadinejad’s media advisor, who has bashed the foreign ministry for lethargy. In defense of the president’s decision to appoint special representatives, the head of the Iranian News Agency (IRNA) said: “it’s about the government’s move to fill in the voids caused by lethargy and failure to satisfy typical activities by the gargantuan body of the ministry of foreign affairs, and not parallel moves. In the current global situation, we need an active diplomatic apparatus, but we don’t see that actually, and this is happening when the main burden of the country’s foreign diplomacy is on the shoulders of the respected president”.
In his interview with Iran daily’s special edition, Manouchehr Mottaki has defended his ministry’s record. “I would like to reject the viewpoint that the diplomatic apparatus remained inactive or was independent in the [present] administration. Wherever and on whatever subject, we did not attend consultation sessions with Mr. President and in broader areas of diplomacy with the Supreme Leader unless we [the ministry] had ideas and considerations about the issues on the agenda.”
Time will tell the future of ties between Ahmadinejad and his foreign minister. Will the Iranian president carry out one of his famous flash moves and dismiss the minister without advance notice, or he will show more toleration and not to rock the boat in critical times for Iranian diplomacy?
A few hours before his visit to New York to attend the UN General Assembly, Ahmadinejad said in his interview with Iran Daily, the official organ of the government, that “foreign diplomacy is not formulated in the foreign ministry. Although the foreign ministry puts forward suggestions, but in fact it is the enforcer of foreign diplomacy, that is, the great load of materializing diplomatic decisions falls in the authority of the ministry of foreign affairs. Of course, it is also the center for coordination of external activities, although unfortunately there are organizations that act without coordinating.” (INN, Saturday, 18th of September 2010)
The Iranian president added that “the shift in Iran’s foreign policy viewpoint should institutionalized in the foreign ministry. After all, for several years this ministry has moved in line with global equations [which Ahmadinejad outspokenly criticizes]; now it is time to bring about change. Of course, some changes have started and I hope they progress fast.” He spoke of his decision to transform the structure, organization and ranking system in the foreign ministry and a shift in diplomatic language and evaluation [system] of the ministry.
In response to his assessment of the ministry’s record, Ahmadinejad gave an equivocal response, fueling the rumors about his disagreement with Manouchehr Mottaki, Minister of Foreign Affairs. The president said that in foreign policy, they all helped each other and pushed their plans forward.
Unlike Ahmadinejad, who has not denied his dissatisfaction with the ministry’s record, Mottaki has tried to practice restraint regarding his dissatisfaction with ongoing diplomatic developments. His only reaction was to Hamid Baqa’ee’s [Head of the Organization of Cultural Heritage and one of Ahmadinejad’s recently appointed special representatives] remarks (calling the death of hundreds of thousands of Armenians during WWI a ‘genocide’), only after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei directly criticized parallel moves in foreign diplomacy.
His reticence, however, has not curbed the critical comments of the president’s cabal; people such as Ali-Akbar Javanfekr, Ahmadinejad’s media advisor, who has bashed the foreign ministry for lethargy. In defense of the president’s decision to appoint special representatives, the head of the Iranian News Agency (IRNA) said: “it’s about the government’s move to fill in the voids caused by lethargy and failure to satisfy typical activities by the gargantuan body of the ministry of foreign affairs, and not parallel moves. In the current global situation, we need an active diplomatic apparatus, but we don’t see that actually, and this is happening when the main burden of the country’s foreign diplomacy is on the shoulders of the respected president”.
In his interview with Iran daily’s special edition, Manouchehr Mottaki has defended his ministry’s record. “I would like to reject the viewpoint that the diplomatic apparatus remained inactive or was independent in the [present] administration. Wherever and on whatever subject, we did not attend consultation sessions with Mr. President and in broader areas of diplomacy with the Supreme Leader unless we [the ministry] had ideas and considerations about the issues on the agenda.”
Time will tell the future of ties between Ahmadinejad and his foreign minister. Will the Iranian president carry out one of his famous flash moves and dismiss the minister without advance notice, or he will show more toleration and not to rock the boat in critical times for Iranian diplomacy?