Appointment of Javad Zarif as 'Strategic Deputy' of Behdarvand; Users: 'Great Whitewasher' Responsible for 'Curing the System's Mess'

Masoud Behdarvand, the head of the Islamic Republic government, introduced Javad Zarif, the former foreign minister of Iran, as his 'strategic deputy.' Some social media users reacted by calling Zarif a 'great whitewasher' and 'responsible for curing the system's mess.' Iranian state-affiliated news agencies reported on Thursday, August 2, that Masoud Behdarvand appointed Javad Zarif, who previously held the foreign minister position in two administrations of Hassan Rouhani and was the main promoter during the government election campaign for the succession of Raisi, to his strategic deputy position. Mohammad Javad Zarif, born in 1959, is an international relations graduate from San Francisco State University and the University of Denver in the United States. Zarif began his career as one of the Islamic Republic's officials in 1979 at the Iranian consulate in San Francisco and worked as the legal and international deputy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Iranian government from 1992 to 2002. He served as the foreign minister of the Islamic Republic from 2013 to 2021 in two administrations of Hassan Rouhani. Zarif's role in justifying the repressive policies of the Islamic Republic during the protests of December 2017 and November 2019, as well as the IRGC's missile strike on the Ukrainian passenger plane, has been repeatedly criticized by observers. The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Mohammad Javad Zarif in 2019 as the spokesperson for Ali Khamenei. Zarif, who has previously been labeled 'the great whitewasher' by opponents, stated after the downing of the Ukrainian passenger plane by IRGC missiles in the sky over Tehran, 'I told the military officials, the world says the plane was hit by a missile. If it really was hit by a missile, tell us how we can cure it.' His appointment as Behdarvand's strategic deputy has sparked reactions on social media. One user on the social media platform X wrote, 'The great whitewasher has become responsible for curing and solving the system's mess. Behdarvand should have established a prevention department for Zarif.' Javad Zarif played a key role in the campaign for the government 'election' for Masoud Behdarvand. After being introduced as Raisi's successor, Masoud Behdarvand, while thanking Ali Khamenei for his 'selection,' discouraged those who had pinned their hopes on his slogans and promises for improvement, pouring cold water on the hopes of those looking for 'opening windows' by referring to a 'strong fist' to those who did not vote. Zarif's appointment as Behdarvand's strategic deputy came hours after the funeral of Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed early Wednesday in Tehran. Previously, Majid Golpour, an international affairs analyst, described Zarif as a 'bankrupt diplomat' and emphasized that the Islamic Republic does not have an easy path for interaction with the world.