LONDON: Iran’s foreign minister said he was forced to sacrifice diplomacy in favor of operations by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to a leaked audio recording.

The three-hour interview with Mohammad Javad Zarif, which wasobtained by the London-based Iran International television channel, reveals the extent of the IRGC’s control over foreign policy.

Zarif said Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Guard’s Quds Force, which is responsible for overseas operations, had a direct hand over broader foreign policy. 

Soleimani was killed in a US airstrike in Baghdad in January last year. As one of Iran’s most powerful figures, he oversaw the regime’s proxy militias in countries like Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

According to Iran International, Zarif said Soleimani’s influence meant he had to further a diplomacy that served Iran’s military operations in the region. 

“On the other hand, I have never been able to ask Soleimani to do something that would serve my diplomatic moves,” he said.

He accused Soleimani of ignoring his pleas to refrain from using the Iranian national airline for transportation to Syria. 

He said Soleimani’s pressure led to a dramatic increase in flights to Damascus.

A number of Iranian airlines have been sanctioned for ferrying fighters and weapons into Syria to support Bashar Assad during the conflict.

The recording was an interview with journalist Saeed Laylaz in March but intended for publication after President Hassan Rouhani leaves office in August, the channel said.

Zarif said Iran prioritized its war operations over diplomacy and that his role in determining Iran’s foreign policy was “nil.”

He added that a visit by Soleimani to Moscow immediately after the 2015 nuclear deal was made was an attempt to destroy the agreement.