Mohammad Javad Zarif

Mohammad Javad Zarif Khansari ( fa, محمدجواد ظریف خوانساری, Mohammad-Javād Zarīf Khānsāri ; ; born 8 January 1960) is an Iranian career diplomat and academic. He was the foreign minister of Iran from 2013 until 2021 in the government of Hassan Rouhani. During his tenure as foreign minister, he led the Iranian negotiation with P5+1 countries which produced the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on 14 July 2015, lifting the economic sanctions against Iran on 16 January 2016. On 25 February 2019, Zarif resigned from his post as foreign minister. His resignation was rejected by Ali Khamenei and he continued as foreign minister.

Before assuming his current position, he held various significant diplomatic and cabinet posts. He is a visiting professor at the School of International Relations and University of Tehran, teaching diplomacy and international organizations. He was the Permanent Representative of Iran to the United Nations from 2002 to 2007. He served as an advisor and senior advisor to the Foreign Minister, Deputy Foreign Minister in Legal and International affairs, member of the UN Eminent Persons Group on Dialogue Among Civilizations, Head of the UN Disarmament Commission in New York, and Vice President for International Affairs of the Islamic Azad University.

Early life and education

Zarif was born in Tehran around 1960, although other sources have given the year of birth as 1959 and 1961. According to ''The New Republic'', Zarif was born to an "affluent, religiously devout and politically conservative merchant family in Tehran". His father was one of the most well-known businessmen of Isfahan, and his mother Efat Kashani (d. 2013) was the daughter of one of the most famous businessmen of Tehran. He was educated at the Alavi School, a private religious institution.

Zarif was shielded from TV, radio, and newspapers by his parents as a youth. There was only an alarm clock that played the Athan during prayers. Instead, he became exposed to revolutionary ideas by reading the books of Ali Shariati and Samad Behrangi.

At age 17, he left Iran for the United States. Zarif attended Drew College Preparatory School, a private college-preparatory high school located in San Francisco, California. He went on to study at San Francisco State University, from which he gained a B.A. in 1981 and M.A. in 1982, both in international relations. Following this, Zarif continued his studies at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver, from which he obtained a second M.A. in international relations in 1984 and a Ph.D. in international law and policy in 1988. His thesis was titled "Self-Defense in International Law and Policy."

Tom Rowe, a professor at the graduate school who led the committee that oversaw Zarif's dissertation, said: "He was among the very best students that I've ever taught." Ved Nanda, who taught and was on Zarif's dissertation committee, recalled: "e wasgood in the classroom. At that time ... I thought he'd play an important part in his country's life." Wright, R.
"The Adversary: Is Iran’s nuclear negotiator, Javad Zarif, for real?"
''The New Yorker'', May 19, 2014.

Initial missions in the US

Zarif was appointed a member of the Iranian delegation to the United Nations in May 1982largely due to his English-speaking ability and relationships in America, rather than formal diplomatic training. As a junior diplomat Zarif was involved in negotiations to win the release of U.S. hostages held by pro-Iranian gunmen in Lebanon, according to the memoirs of former United Nations envoy Giandomenico Picco. Even though the United States did not make a promised reciprocal goodwill gesture at the time, Zarif remained committed to improving ties.

In 2000, Zarif served as chairman of the Asian preparatory meeting of the World Conference on Racism and as the chairman of the United Nations Disarmament Commission. Zarif was also professor of international law at the University of Tehran. He served as the vice president of Islamic Azad University in charge of foreign affairs from 2010 to 2012 under Abdollah Jasbi. He has served on the board of editors of a number of scholarly journals, including the ''Iranian Journal of International Affairs'' and ''Iranian Foreign Policy'', and has written extensively on disarmament, human rights, international law, and regional conflicts.

Representative at the United Nations

Zarif served as Iran's representative at the United Nations from 2002 to 2007. He was closely linked with developing the so-called "Grand Bargain," a plan to resolve outstanding issues between the U.S. and Iran in 2003. Zarif, during his time at the UN, held private meetings with a number of Washington politicians, including the then-Senators Joseph Biden and Chuck Hagel

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