Larijani, representative of Tehran: If Plato becomes Iran's foreign minister, he will not be able to do anything

Dr. Mohammad Javad Ardashir Larijani said: "Our foreign diplomacy is currently extremely ineffective due to the accumulation of inefficient and obstructive forces."

He added yesterday, on the occasion of Student Day, while addressing students at Gilan University of Medical Sciences: "The multitude of inefficient forces in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made it so that even if Plato were to become the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, he would not be able to accomplish anything."

It is worth mentioning that Mohammad Javad Larijani had significant disagreements with Velayati, the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, who also served during the Reconstruction period, since the 1980s and the time of Resolution 598. These disagreements extended even after the Reformist government took office.

Larijani, in 2007 during a television program, cited his disagreement with "Ali Akbar Velayati" as the reason for his separation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The then Secretary of the Human Rights Headquarters said: "I do not hide that, while having great respect for Dr. Velayati, we have significant differences in opinion."

He then explained this difference of opinion: "In principle, the diplomacy I believe in is project-based diplomacy. We need to consider a task, pursue it, and bring it to fruition."

According to the newspaper Etemad, citing ISNA, Larijani referred to another reason for his separation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Resolution 598, stating: "Mr. Velayati was very sensitive to the reactions of the press; if anyone wrote a word in the press regarding the resolution, he was willing to halt the project."

He said: "I believe if a project has a foundation and has followed a defined path within the system, since governmental work is not an individual effort and decisions must be made collectively, once a decision is made, one must be open in dealing with the press and media, but proceed with firm steps. Belief should not be obstructive but should rather be complementary."

Mohammad Javad Larijani also provided explanations regarding his meeting with "Nick Brown" and the ensuing controversy: "The meeting with Nick Brown was a routine meeting that took place at our embassy at the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs because we wanted him to become an ambassador. We discussed the matter of the meeting with Nick Brown in the presence of three or four experts from the country; however, this was at a time when our political rivals thought there was news and used this as a pretext for unethical electoral behavior."

In response to the question of what the controversial statement was, he stated: "Overall, what upset me was that I provided an interpretation from the conservative or right-wing perspective that led our rivals to say these are the Taliban who want to come to power, and they were propagating in this manner."

When asked how many political negotiations he has conducted, as people recognize him as a diplomat, he added: "I have conducted over 3,000 negotiations at the international level over the past 30 years."

Regarding how many of these negotiations have been successful, Larijani said: "Negotiation is like painting. Negotiation is a specific art. There is no painter whose every painting is good or beautiful, and I believe some of my negotiations have been very important, and some have reached results after numerous negotiations, such as the negotiations related to Resolution 598, which I mainly led."

Source: Old Press