Updated August 28th, 2021 at 01:49 IST
'Dear Brother Javad': World leaders extend wishes as Iran's FM bids farewell to diplomacy
Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu has conveyed his best wishes to Iran's Javad Zarif, who earlier this week, bid farewell to diplomacy.
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Javad Zarif, who served as the Foreign Minister of Iran from 2013 until 2021 bid farewell to diplomacy on August 24. During his elaborative tenure, he made significant contributions to shape the Islamic Republic’s foreign policy and international relations, and was also a key negotiator in the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal.
Global reactions to Zarif's resignation
Last week, Zarif took to Twitter to announce that he has now shifted to full-time teaching and research. Resharing the same, Cavusoglu reckoned that it was a “pleasure to cooperate” on issues of common concern. Furthermore, asserting that his “brother Javad” is an “intellectual and successful diplomat”, the Turkish lawmaker said that Zarif’s contributions to bolstering the Turko-Iranian ties will always be remembered.
Dear Brother Javad, it was a pleasure to cooperate with you on issues of common concern. As a prominent intellectual & successful diplomat, your contribution to relations between 🇹🇷 and 🇮🇷 will always be remembered. @JZarif https://t.co/iDYY8xZnrg
— Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (@MevlutCavusoglu) August 26, 2021
Meanwhile, Venezuela's Nicholas Maduro-led administration also extended wishes to their long term ally. We send our gratitude, our sincere embrace & our greatest appreciation to our brother Javad Zarif for his support & solidarity with Venezuela," Venezuelan Chancellery said. It is imperative to note that despite stringent sanctions by the US, Iran has been exporting oil to fuel-starved Venezuela.
We send our gratitude, our sincere embrace & our greatest appreciation to our brother @JZarif for his support & solidarity with Venezuela. You can always count on the unconditional friendship of the Venezuelan people & we wish you many successes in your new functions. 🇻🇪🤝 pic.twitter.com/tU9qp9HoOu
— Cancillería Venezuela 🇻🇪 (@CancilleriaVE) August 26, 2021
Jan Eliasson, Former Foreign Affairs Minister of Sweden also took to Twitter to wish his Iranian counterpart the 'best'.
All the best for your life outside government, Javad.
— Jan Eliasson (@JanKEliasson) August 24, 2021
We met first in Geneva 1988 working on ending the Iran/Iraq war.
Later,in different roles at the UN and in our countries, lastly on the crucial #IranDeal.
Your voice on peace and security and the role of diplomacy is crucial.
Iran's political change
Earlier in August, Iran underwent a major political change after ultra-orthodox Ebrahim Raisi replaced Rouhani as the country’s president. The hardliner is tasked with resuming a fragile nuclear deal - a significant achievement of his predecessor, pulling Iran out of a lethal health crisis, and re-establishing a balance of power in the region. Soon after assuming office, he addressed a large crowd of supporters at his oath-taking ceremony and vowed to pull all stops to resume the JCPOA deal, but clarified that he won’t “bow” in front of the western powers.
After four decades of diplomacy, I move on to full-time teaching and research.
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) August 24, 2021
I'll continue to pursue and promote global understanding and encourage "positive-sum" dialog—based on empathy, mutual respect and equal footing.
Looking forward to continuing the exchange of views. pic.twitter.com/QZb0nuaFqX
Zarif resigns with an apology
Zarif resigned on August 24 with speculations of his aide Amir-Abdollahian replacing him. Two days later, he released a statement asking forgiveness from Iranian residents for not being able to “protect national interests.” He said that he would continue to “promote global understanding” and dialogues but now at the University of Tehran.
“We have certainly not achieved all our foreign policy goals in the last eight years. History will judge both the value of our achievements and the causes of our failures. But we have always tried our best, together with good and worthy colleagues, to make foreign policy elevate peace, health, and welfare of the people, and protect the rights of the nation, the national economy, and the development of the country,” he said.
He added, “Forgive me but to protect the national interest. I could not always speak as I liked and even defend my actions. And I testify that in four decades of service in foreign policy, I had no criteria other than the interests of the people of this country. Now I intend to continue the same task in another field at the University of Tehran.”
Image: JZarif/Twitter
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Published August 28th, 2021 at 01:49 IST
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