Iran orders probe into leaked Zarif audio ‘conspiracy’

TEHRAN: Iran’s president has ordered a probe into the "conspiracy" of leaked audio in which the foreign minister says the military was too influential in diplomacy, a government spokesman announced on Tuesday.

President Hassan Rouhani ordered the investigation to identify who leaked the "stolen" three-hour-long recording by top diplomat and member of his moderate government Mohammed Javad Zarif, the spokesman said. The tape, which comes ahead of presidential elections in June, has dominated the discussion in the Islamic republic since its publication by media outlets outside Iran on Sunday.