On the heels of the re-election of moderate President Hassan Rouhani, Iranian hard-liners have once again launched a wave of attacks against the government. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who is widely popular among Iranians for having reached the nuclear deal in 2015, has in recent days been particularly facing a series of accusations by hard-liners.

Parliament member Mahmoud Nabavian, a member of the hard-line Endurance Front and also a part of the campaign of conservative presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi, claimed recently that Zarif had reached a deal with the United States to hand over Quds Force commander Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani in exchange for the lifting of remaining banking sanctions.

Once the audio file of Nabavian's allegations went viral on social media, Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghassemi denied the Endurance Front member’s claims and threatened to file a legal complaint against him.

On May 31, Zarif himself reacted to Nabavian’s claims and described his statements as “shameful.” Zarif said that in light of his “affection for and cooperation with the general, I will definitely pursue this issue legally, unless [he who made the allegations] formally apologizes or repents.”