Interview with the Student News Agency (SNN) August 17, 2024 -
The interview was in Persian and the translation below was done by Ai.
In an interview with the Student News Agency regarding the challenges facing "Iraqchi" as the choice for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the 14th government, Sasan Karimi stated: "Iraqchi has unique characteristics in terms of personal and technical characteristics. He has a uniform face, which in diplomatic terms is called a poker face, and this characteristic is very positive for a diplomat."
He added: "Iraqchi was not just a simple employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who simply spent his days; rather, he had an effective presence in sensitive and challenging negotiations. Including the negotiations to revive the JCPOA, which is considered a great achievement for the country."
Karimi continued by emphasizing that Araqchi is not a waste of people's time, stating: "He does not prolong issues for fear of finalizing negotiations. In the country's contemporary history, there have been periods when progress was possible, but due to a lack of self-confidence or will to finalize, opportunities were missed. Araqchi has the courage to bring negotiations to a conclusion."
He also added: "He has excellent negotiating skills and has risen step by step through the ranks of the Foreign Ministry. This gives him a good understanding of the organization and his origins, and he will likely be well received by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."
In another part of the conversation, Karimi referred to the challenges facing Araqchi if elected as Foreign Minister, saying: "The most important challenge that Araqchi will face is the internal political competition that has always affected foreign policy. In periods when people with similar views to Araqchi were in the government, the focus on development and negotiation was dominant in foreign policy, and this issue may again be challenging for Araqchi."
He added: "The issue of nuclear diplomacy also remains a major challenge. The task of reviving the JCPOA and lifting sanctions has now become much more difficult and complicated given the global conditions, but one of Araqchi's strengths is that he has complete knowledge and mastery of the nuclear issue."
Karimi also stated regarding a quote from Araqchi that was raised during the commission meetings: "This quote is incomplete. Araqchi stated that there is no such thing as a New York gang and that the people who worked in our New York office were not part of any gang. This is an issue that the media has raised incorrectly."
SNN Link
File
Video on Youtube
