Mahmoud Vaezi, the presidential chief of staff, on Friday implicitly criticized recent remarks by top security official, Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, as inappropriate given the country faces stringent United States sanctions. Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) last week criticized the government’s management of fuel price rises in 2019.

Vaezi pointed out that the SNSC council secretary should coordinate with the president, Hassan Rouhani, who ex officio chairs the body. “The council's secretariat must, as in the past, sync itself with the chief of the Council," Vaezi told reporters. "It seems like in the current circumstances with the country being in an economic war, what some people say and the interviews that they give cause problems rather than calming the atmosphere. This is a problem that needs to be solved."

The IRNA news agency on Friday reported that Vaezi had "denounced irresponsible comments" by those who "pursue their own interest."

This is the second example in recent months of public disagreement between the secretariat of the SNSC, including Shamkhani, and the government. In early February some of the lawmakers, who passed legislation requiring an expansion in Iran’s nuclear program if US sanctions were not lifted, claimed they had coordinated with the SNSC. On December 4, Vaezi told the Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA) that the secretariat was acting beyond its powers: "Maybe they had coordinated secretly but they had no permission from the President or the Council."

Vaezi's latest remarks followed Shamkhani’s interview published March 8 by the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) when he criticized the government over "the manner of announcement, implementation and management" of higher fuel prices in November 2019, which led to "damages to the country that could have be avoided" and "a security crisis."

The government plan – which unlike earlier fuel increases were not accompanied by higher welfare payments – was announced and implemented by the National Security Council (SNC), a security body headed by the interior minister.

Protests against the price hike began on November 15, 2019 in Tehran, spread to other cities, and lasted over a week. Hundreds were killed and thousands arrested, while the authorities shut down the internet for a week to prevent the circulation of messages, videos and images.

The Secretary of the SNSC is appointed by the president with the approval of the Supreme Leader. Shamkhani was appointed by Rouhani in September 2013. Rouhani himself held the position from 1989 to 2005, taking a relatively active role under presidents Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami.

In 2013, after Rouhani was elected president, primary responsibility for international talks over Iran’s nuclear program was transferred from the SNSC to the foreign ministry. Shamkhani has been a critic of the nuclear deal that Iran reached with world powers in 2015, which the US abandoned in 2018 before imposing draconian sanctions.