Leaked recording of Iran’s top diplomat offers blunt talk

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A recording of Iran’s foreign minister offering a blunt appraisal of diplomacy and the limits of power within the Islamic Republic has leaked out publicly. It’s providing a rare look inside the country’s theocracy. The release of the comments by the minister set off a firestorm within the Islamic Republic. In Iran, officials carefully mind their words amid a cut-throat political environment that includes the powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard that’s ultimately overseen by the country’s supreme leader. The foreign minister has been suggested as a possible candidate for Iran’s June 18 presidential election as well. The leak also comes amid talks in Vienna about Iran’s tattered nuclear deal.