Edit... Dina El Sheriff

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced that the leak of an audio recording of his chief diplomat, Mohammad Javad Zarif, was aimed at provoking "discord" in Iran during talks aimed at reviving a nuclear agreement.

At a meeting of his Cabinet, Rouhani added in televised remarks: "These statements were published directly when the Vienna talks were at the height of their success, causing controversy within Iran."

Rouhani ordered an investigation to identify the "stolen" registration squadron for three hours.

His moderate government sought to downplay the statements, which were leaked before the June elections, while Iran and world powers in Vienna are discussing ways to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement.

In an interview with a research center, Zarif described Russia as wanting to stop the nuclear deal before it was concluded under the Obama administration, noting that Moscow wants to keep Iran at odds with the West.