Senior former Iranian diplomats are expressing open criticism of their government,

warning that by failing to revive the nuclear deal and supplying drones to Russia in
Ukraine, the country risks becoming isolated, its economy weakened and the protest
movement emboldened.
The increasingly stark warnings may reflect the views of a waning old guard of
reformist diplomats, but appear to echo a live battle within the government over
strategy and policy.

Hamid Aboutalebi, a former envoy to the EU and former political adviser to the
previous president, Hassan Rouhani, tweeted on Monday that “Iranian foreign policy
has been captured by extremists”.
The longest blast has come from Seyyid Mohammad Sadr, the former head of the
foreign affairs ministry’s Europe division and still a serving member of the
Expediency Council, the main advisory body to the supreme leader.
In a front-page interview with the Etemaad newspaper, he said he feared Iran had
thrown away “a golden opportunity” to revive the nuclear deal and suggested the
country had abandoned its neutrality in Ukraine, leaving Tehran exposed to
American claims of war crimes by supplying drones for use against Ukrainian
civilians.

Senior Iranian ex-diplomats expressing

open criticism of regime
Former envoys warn against policies including supply of drones
to Russia and failure to revive nuclear deal
 Russia-Ukraine war – latest news updates

Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi addressing lawmakers in Tehran. One ex-envoy

said he had warned Raisi about the implications of failing to revive the nuclear
deal. Photograph: Rouzbeh Fouladi/Zuma Press Wire/Rex/Shutterstock
Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor
Mon 16 Jan 2023 15.55 GMT



Senior former Iranian diplomats are expressing open criticism of their
government, warning that by failing to revive the nuclear deal
and supplying drones to Russia in Ukraine, the country risks becoming
isolated, its economy weakened and the protest movement emboldened.
The increasingly stark warnings may reflect the views of a waning old guard
of reformist diplomats, but appear to echo a live battle within the
government over strategy and policy.
Hamid Aboutalebi, a former envoy to the EU and former political adviser to
the previous president, Hassan Rouhani, tweeted on Monday that “Iranian
foreign policy has been captured by extremists”.
The longest blast has come from Seyyid Mohammad Sadr, the former head
of the foreign affairs ministry’s Europe division and still a serving member
of the Expediency Council, the main advisory body to the supreme leader.
In a front-page interview with the Etemaad newspaper, he said he feared
Iran had thrown away “a golden opportunity” to revive the nuclear deal and
suggested the country had abandoned its neutrality in Ukraine, leaving
Tehran exposed to American claims of war crimes by supplying drones for
use against Ukrainian civilians.
Jalal Sadatian, a senior diplomat in the UK between 1982 and 1986, said “a
way must be found to answer the current human rights issues so that a
meeting can be held again to revive [the Iran nuclear talks] and reach an
understanding. Europeans don’t act based on emotions, and if some of their
interests are secured, they may adjust their approach.”
In November, a group of 36 retired diplomats signed a carefully framed
joint statement claiming grave mistakes in Iran’s foreign policy were having
a damaging knock-on effect domestically. Urging the country’s leaders to
listen to the youth, they expressed concern about Iran’s moral position if it
played the dangerous game of supplying weapons to Russia.
Nosratollah Tajik, one of the signatories and a former ambassador to
Jordan, said a closed elite had locked Iran into a dangerous space by allying
with Russia over Ukraine. He warned: “Becoming a belligerent in the
Russia-Ukraine war will cause the economic situation of Iran to collapse,
create more public dissatisfaction and challenge the government’s authority
to solve political, social and economic problems.”

Sadr in his Etemaad interview said he feared it was Iranian negotiators that
prevented a deal from being reached to revive the nuclear agreement,
adding he had warned the Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, personally that
if the issues blocking the deal were left unresolved, “all the economic
pressures would be on his government’s shoulders”.

He said opposition to reviving the nuclear deal came from three sources:
“Some security forces; those who benefit from the [western] sanctions; and
the third group of people [are those] who do not have a proper
understanding of foreign policy and international relations.”

He warned: “According to official statistics, at least 30% of the people are

below the poverty line, meat and fruit are being removed from the food
basket of many people, the unemployment rate and inflation are increasing
every day. Unfortunately, some people do not know the conditions in which
people live and have closed their eyes to the realities of society.”
 He predicted the country would become increasingly isolated partly due to
the executions of protesters, adding its diplomats may be expelled from
some EU countries.
Senior former Iranian diplomats are expressing open criticism of their government,
warning that by failing to revive the nuclear deal and supplying drones to Russia in
Ukraine, the country risks becoming isolated, its economy weakened and the protest
movement emboldened.
The increasingly stark warnings may reflect the views of a waning old guard of
reformist diplomats, but appear to echo a live battle within the government over
strategy and policy.

Hamid Aboutalebi, a former envoy to the EU and former political adviser to the
previous president, Hassan Rouhani, tweeted on Monday that “Iranian foreign policy
has been captured by extremists”.
The longest blast has come from Seyyid Mohammad Sadr, the former head of the
foreign affairs ministry’s Europe division and still a serving member of the
Expediency Council, the main advisory body to the supreme leader.
In a front-page interview with the Etemaad newspaper, he said he feared Iran had
thrown away “a golden opportunity” to revive the nuclear deal and suggested the
country had abandoned its neutrality in Ukraine, leaving Tehran exposed to
American claims of war crimes by supplying drones for use against Ukrainian
civilians.

Senior Iranian ex-diplomats expressing

open criticism of regime
Former envoys warn against policies including supply of drones
to Russia and failure to revive nuclear deal
 Russia-Ukraine war – latest news updates

Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi addressing lawmakers in Tehran. One ex-envoy

said he had warned Raisi about the implications of failing to revive the nuclear
deal. Photograph: Rouzbeh Fouladi/Zuma Press Wire/Rex/Shutterstock
Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor
Mon 16 Jan 2023 15.55 GMT



Senior former Iranian diplomats are expressing open criticism of their
government, warning that by failing to revive the nuclear deal
and supplying drones to Russia in Ukraine, the country risks becoming
isolated, its economy weakened and the protest movement emboldened.
The increasingly stark warnings may reflect the views of a waning old guard
of reformist diplomats, but appear to echo a live battle within the
government over strategy and policy.
Hamid Aboutalebi, a former envoy to the EU and former political adviser to
the previous president, Hassan Rouhani, tweeted on Monday that “Iranian
foreign policy has been captured by extremists”.
The longest blast has come from Seyyid Mohammad Sadr, the former head
of the foreign affairs ministry’s Europe division and still a serving member
of the Expediency Council, the main advisory body to the supreme leader.
In a front-page interview with the Etemaad newspaper, he said he feared
Iran had thrown away “a golden opportunity” to revive the nuclear deal and
suggested the country had abandoned its neutrality in Ukraine, leaving
Tehran exposed to American claims of war crimes by supplying drones for
use against Ukrainian civilians.
Jalal Sadatian, a senior diplomat in the UK between 1982 and 1986, said “a
way must be found to answer the current human rights issues so that a
meeting can be held again to revive [the Iran nuclear talks] and reach an
understanding. Europeans don’t act based on emotions, and if some of their
interests are secured, they may adjust their approach.”
In November, a group of 36 retired diplomats signed a carefully framed
joint statement claiming grave mistakes in Iran’s foreign policy were having
a damaging knock-on effect domestically. Urging the country’s leaders to
listen to the youth, they expressed concern about Iran’s moral position if it
played the dangerous game of supplying weapons to Russia.
Nosratollah Tajik, one of the signatories and a former ambassador to
Jordan, said a closed elite had locked Iran into a dangerous space by allying
with Russia over Ukraine. He warned: “Becoming a belligerent in the
Russia-Ukraine war will cause the economic situation of Iran to collapse,
create more public dissatisfaction and challenge the government’s authority
to solve political, social and economic problems.”

Sadr in his Etemaad interview said he feared it was Iranian negotiators that
prevented a deal from being reached to revive the nuclear agreement,
adding he had warned the Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, personally that
if the issues blocking the deal were left unresolved, “all the economic
pressures would be on his government’s shoulders”.

He said opposition to reviving the nuclear deal came from three sources:
“Some security forces; those who benefit from the [western] sanctions; and
the third group of people [are those] who do not have a proper
understanding of foreign policy and international relations.”

He warned: “According to official statistics, at least 30% of the people are

below the poverty line, meat and fruit are being removed from the food
basket of many people, the unemployment rate and inflation are increasing
every day. Unfortunately, some people do not know the conditions in which
people live and have closed their eyes to the realities of society.”
He predicted the country would become increasingly isolated partly due to
the executions of protesters, adding its diplomats may be expelled from
some EU countries.