Iran's foreign minister, Mohamed Javad Zarif, who these days is very popular at home and abroad after striking a nuclear deal with world powers, appears to be courting trouble with lawmakers in Tehran. On Sunday, 8 December, 20 members of Iran's parliament asked President Hassan Rouhani to discharge Zarif while another 50 MPs sent to Zarif a stern letter accusing him of “minimising Iran's power and capacities” and “hurting the Islamic Republic, martyrs' families and warriors' honour”. Up until now, Zarif has enjoyed the full support of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The supreme leader publicly, in a note, thanked Iran's nuclear negotiations team when they returned from Geneva and wished them more success and achievements. The note came as a relief for many who harboured doubts on Khamenei's approval of the Geneva deal, having suffered under Western sanctions in response to the hostile foreign diplomacy pursued until recently by him. Sources close to officials in Iran told Al-Ahram Weekly that the Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) are angry with Iran's negotiations team and wanted to arrest Zarif upon his arrival to Tehran. Apparently, top IRGC commanders are upset that Zarif and his US counterpart shook hands front of the cameras and agreed to a virtual halt in Iran's nuclear programme. Khamenei's backing acts as a protection to the new government, but its limits are unclear. Khamenei's major interest goes no further than seeing sanctions removed and the economy improve. Anything beyond this goal, like the normalisation of relations with the United States, is off the table for now. For sure, Zarif knows well Iran's red lines, but what he said among students Tuesday on Iran's defence capability and US military might left some wondering if he cares about the red lines. Zarif said Western countries weren't afraid of Iran's tanks and missiles. “What they are afraid of are our people. Do you think the US, which with one bomb can disable our military system, has fears of our military system?” Zarif asked at Tehran University in answer to a student criticising government foreign policy. What Zarif admitted publicly among the students is known by all Iranians. He was just brave enough to say it openly. Such things are usually not discussed frankly in Iran, a country in which regime propaganda asserts 24 hours a days at fever pitch that the country's defence capabilities are second to none. Returning to the fold of the international community has a price, Zarif indicating to the West and Iran's Arab neighbours that his country is ready to compromise at some level in order to improve its image. Arab Gulf States want to hear the detail on this compromise, and also if Iran is giving up arming Hizbullah and other regional military factions, and would ready to help make peace in the region, especially putting an end to the crisis in Syria. Zarif came to Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the UAE to assure Iran's neighbours of his government's desire to make relations with them better, and also with the whole world, along with sharing details on Iran's nuclear programme and the agreement reached in Geneva with the P5+1 (five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany). Sheikh Zayed Bin Khalifeh Al-Nahyan, the UAE president, has accepted President Rouhani's invitation to visit Tehran in the near future. Sheikh Nahyan's upcoming visit would be the first of a UAE head of state since the revolution in Iran 34 years ago. The symbolism is important for Iran, which is also invited to the Geneva II peace conference on Syria in January (the United Nations will be sending the invitation by the end of December). Iran's attendance could only be possible if most of the influential Arab states approve of Iran's participation. Zarif has much to do before the conference, including talking to other Arab states and Bashar Al-Assad, if Tehran wishes or is willing to play a major role at the conference. Iran is in a crucial transitional period, locked between reformers and hardliners who would do their best to undermine all recent efforts. President Obama, in a recent interview with American networks, said the chances of reaching a permanent and final deal with Iran are 50-50, echoing what US Secretary of State John Kerry said earlier on the difficulties that lie ahead. So Iran's path to change, whether internal or in its external relations, is long. Meanwhile, “the key” so often mentioned by Rouhani — and with which he promised to open “locked doors” — is not in his hands. It is in the hands of Khamenei. If and when the latter stops supporting the government, the government would fall apart, and with it all gains and achievements reached so far. The warning letter from MPs addressed to Zarif and the approach of others to Rouhani directly both came from hardliner quarters, reminding Zarif that he lives in Iran, not the United States.
