Representative of “Old Fox” Not Welcome

After Jack Straw, the former British foreign secretary announced his desire to visit Tehran to meet Iran’s newly elected president and a website close to the Revolutionary Guards published a story that Straw may attend Hassan Rowhani’s inaugural ceremony in August, a number of ex-Revolutionary Guard officers who are in the Majlis as “representatives” reacted to the possibility and called for a cancellation of such a visit.

Former Guards commander Javad Karimi Ghodoosi who currently sits on the parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee said in this regard, “The Majlis will not allow Jack Straw to participate in Hassan Rowhani’s inaugural ceremony because the organization of the event is in the hands of the Majlis.”

This former commander expressed pleasure at the break in diplomatic relations between Iran and Britain which took place after the 2009 unrest in Iran and said, “What is clear is that the history of relations of the British government with Iran is very dark and just as ayatollah Khomeini welcomed US’s unilateral decision to cut off its relations with Iran, the Iranian nation sees Britain’s unilateral decision to break its diplomatic relations with Iran positively.” He also claimed that “the first (positive) sign because of the break in relations with Britain was that the 2013 presidential elections held last month were held in absolute peace and security because Britain had been active in the dirty sedition of 2009 and the resolution to reduce relations with Britain to the charge level had been passed in the Majlis because of Britain’s actions regarding Iran.”

Another ex-Guards commander who was responsible for the force’s foreign operations and who is currently a leading member of the national security and foreign policy committee in the Majlis echoed these sentiments. Former general Mansoor Haghighatpoor said, “The British have a bad record in their relations with the Islamic republic and have committed major blunders regarding the Iranian nation. If Mr. Jack Straw wants to come to Iran to say that they had made mistakes in the past, then it is ok (for him to come).”

Former Guards colonel Nader Ghazipour also commented on the visit by saying, “Whatever problems we have had since Shah Abbas in Iran has been because of Britain; the break-up of Iran into a number of countries was done by Britain. And whatever problems we encountered during the first and second World Wars were because of Britain. The ‘aged fox’ has always brought us harm without any benefits. Jack Straw’s visit to Iran does not bring any benefits to us.” He then turned to the current sanctions against Iran and said, “If they are honest, then they should lift the sanctions, end the medical sanctions, they have blocked our money, they introduce new sanctions against the Islamic republic under the guise of nuclear issues. We do not want friendship and their coming here.”

During last Friday’s congregational prayers too cleric Mojtaba Zolnoor, ayatollah Khamenei’s advisor in the Revolutionary Guards force mentioned Straw’s possible visit. “Jack Straw has no job today but he had committed various tricks during the nuclear talks with our country. He was among the three cabinet ministers from Europe who participated at the Saadabad palace talks in Tehran and had asked for confidence building while at the same time calling for the suspension of our nuclear enrichment program. He had also asked us to sign the NPT voluntary protocol on safeguards,” he said. Zolnoor had resigned from his position as Khamenei’s advisor in 2009 to make a run for the presidency, which he lost. “Britain’s ill-will acts against Iran are beyond count but when an unemployed person pretends to come to help good relations, even though our doors are not closed to any guest, we protest domineering countries for their dishonesty. Because of this, Jack Straw’s visit is not a positive step for our government or people but is in fact a trick to pursue the carrot policy,” he continued. “Britain is an old and arrogant fox which strives to advance its treachery, and has till now not taken any steps to resolve this issue. But such measures may be taken to prepare the ground for reopening the British embassy in Tehran, even though because of the British government’s interference whether their embassy remains open or not is not important and the Islamic republic gains nothing by it.”

Jack Straw raised the possibility of visiting Tehran himself during an interview with BBS Persian Service. In the interview he expressed his hope for the resumption of the nuclear talks between Iran and the West now that Rowhani had been elected president. He also said that he had sent a congratulatory message to the newly elected president through Oman, which acts as the country’s interlocutor in the absence of direct diplomatic relations.

On July 18, 2013 Fars news agency affiliated to the Revolutionary Guards posted an interview in which Morteza Bank, introduced as Hassan Rowhani’s advisor, had said that Jack Straw would be coming to Rowhani’s inauguration on August 3, 2013 as a special guest.

The public relations office of the Majlis has announced the date of the inaugural ceremony but added that no decision had yet been made over the special guests to the event. In the meantime, Tasnim news agency which acts as the mouthpiece for the Revolutionary Guards claimed that an informed source in president-elect Hassan Rowhani’s office had said that no invitation had been extended to Jack Straw by that office.

Iran’s relations with Britain had been turbulent since 1979. In the latest round, on June 19, 2009 during a Friday prayer sermon ayatollah Khamenei called Britain “malicious” after the 2009 massive public protests to the presidential election results and accused the country of having a hand in the protests.  Following that, a number of British embassy staff in Tehran were detained and tried and the government expelled two diplomats from the country, which resulted in the expulsion of two Iranian diplomats from London.

But the new development in that regard was the attack on the British government property in uptown Tehran (in Gholhak) by Basij elements. The Majlis then passed a resolution calling on the government to reduce the level of its relations with Britain. Last year following a new round of international oil, banking and shipping sanctions against Iran by Britain, plainclothes agents and militiamen affiliated to the Basij para-military force that operates under the command of the Revolutionary Guards, attached the British embassy again and destroyed property inside the buildings. This resulted in Britain’s response by completely breaking its diplomatic ties with Iran.

During his election campaign and following his victory, Iran’s newly elected president Hassan Rowhani had said that he would work to lift the international economic sanctions against Iran and that he would improve relations with the world, including the West to accomplish this goal.