Mohammad Javad Zarif

Mohammad Javad Zarif
محمدجواد ظریف
Zarif in 2021
Vice President of Iran
for Strategic Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office
1 August 2024
PresidentMasoud Pezeshkian
Preceded byPosition established
Advisor to the President of Iran
Head of Center for Strategic Studies
Incumbent
Assumed office
1 August 2024
PresidentMasoud Pezeshkian
Preceded byMostafa Zamanian
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran
In office
15 August 2013 – 25 August 2021
PresidentHassan Rouhani
DeputyMorteza Sarmadi
Preceded byAli Akbar Salehi
Succeeded byHossein Amir-Abdollahian
Chief Nuclear Negotiator of Iran
In office
6 September 2013 – 14 July 2015
PresidentHassan Rouhani
DeputyAbbas Araghchi
Preceded bySaeed Jalili
Succeeded byAbbas Araghchi (as head of JCPOA follow-up commission)[1]
Ambassador of Iran to the United Nations
In office
5 August 2002 – 25 July 2007
PresidentMohammad Khatami
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Preceded byMohd. Hadi Nejad Hosseinian
Succeeded byMohammad Khazaee
Personal details
Born (1960-01-08) 8 January 1960 (age 64)
Tehran, Pahlavi Iran
Political partyIndependent
Spouse
​
(m. 1979)​
[2]
Children2[3]
Awardssee below
Signature
WebsiteGovernment site
Academic background
Alma materSan Francisco State (BA, MA)
University of Denver (MA, PhD)
ThesisSelf-Defense in International Law and Policy (1988)
Academic work
InstitutionsSchool of International Relations
University of Tehran
Islamic Azad University

Mohammad Javad Zarif (Persian pronunciation: [mohæmːædd͡ʒæˌvɒːde zæˌɾiːf]; born 8 January 1960) is an Iranian career diplomat[4] and academic. He is Vice President for Strategic Affairs since August 2024.[5][6][7] He was the foreign minister of Iran from 2013 until 2021 in the government of Hassan Rouhani.

During his tenure as foreign minister, Zarif led the Iranian negotiation with P5+1 countries which produced the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on 14 July 2015,[8] lifting the economic sanctions against Iran on 16 January 2016.[9] Zarif resigned from his post as foreign minister in February 2019.[10] His resignation was rejected by Ali Khamenei and he continued as foreign minister.

Zarif has 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.[11]

  1. ^ "Araghchi appointed as head of 'JCPOA Follow-up Commission'". Mehr News Agency. 22 September 2015. 2922155. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  2. ^ "The Wife of Iran's Foreign Minister Adds a New Twist to the nuclear talks". The Daily Beast. 1 July 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  3. ^ My children resident in Iran Jam-e Jam
  4. ^ Bozorgmehr, Najmeh (26 February 2019). "Iran's foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif offers to resign". The Financial Times. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022.
  5. ^ "Zarif appointed as strategic deputy of president Pezeshkian". Mehr News Agency. Archived from the original on 1 August 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  6. ^ Fassihi, Farnaz; Nikounazar, Leily (12 August 2024). "Iranian Vice President Resigns, Signaling Deep Divisions as Cabinet Takes Shape". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  7. ^ Iran's Zarif announces return to cabinet after brief resignation, intellinews.com, August 27, 2024.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference wp was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "International sanctions against Iran lifted". Washington Post. 16 January 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  10. ^ Hafezi, Parisa (26 February 2019). "Iran's Foreign Minister Zarif, architect of nuclear deal, resigns". Reuters – via www.reuters.com.
  11. ^ Who’s Who in Iranian Politics. Mohammad Javad Zarif Iranian Diplomacy. 13 August 2013. Archived from the original on 23 November 2013.