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Moahmmad Javad Zarif: a Celebrity in the Middle East

Al-Safir, Lebanon, Originally posted in Arabic on August 13

Earlier this week I met with Iranian Foreign Minister Moahammad Javad Zarif at Beirut’s international airport, upon his first visit to Lebanon since the signing of the nuclear agreement. Zarif has come to Lebanon to lay out the Iranian initiative for a ceasefire in Syria.

With a peculiar smile on his face, the minister seems to be more of a celebrity than a politician these days. He managed to take Iran out of its dire sanctions regime and outplayed the world’s greatest powers – the United States, Britain, France, and Germany – during the nuclear talks.

At home, he has won the unequivocal support of the Supreme Leader, the president, the Iranian Shurah Council, and his people. It’s enough to look at him to know that he is at the peak of his career.

During our short conversation, Zarif seemed determined to send a message to the neighbors in the region. He denied rumors of tensions between Teheran and Ankara, stating that his visit to Turkey was postponed simply due to “a conflict of schedules”. He made a direct appeal to his “Saudi friends”, and called on them to “see the facts as they are”. Zarif explained that Iran has never been hostile to Saudi Arabia, while the latter openly stood by Saddam Hussein’s side during his war with Iran.

He concluded by saying that Iran is interested in promoting greater peace in the region, and that “everyone around us” is content with the agreement, with the exception of Benjamin Netanyahu. – Marlin Halifa