Mohammad Javad Zarif Appointed as 'Strategic Deputy' to the President

Masoud Pezeshkian, the President of Iran, appointed Mohammad Javad Zarif as the 'Strategic Deputy' of the President. This appointment was made on Thursday, August 11, and Mr. Zarif is also set to head the Strategic Studies Center of the Presidency. According to reports from Iranian news agencies, Pezeshkian emphasized in his decree to Zarif that he was appointed to this position based on his managerial experience, academic and executive background, and in reference to Article 124 of the Constitution. After the Iranian presidential elections, Zarif was chosen by Pezeshkian as the head of the 'Advisory Council' for selecting ministers for the fourteenth government, a council responsible for selecting individuals for the upcoming cabinet, which concluded its work simultaneously with Pezeshkian's swearing-in as the new President of Iran. Part of the decree states that Mr. Zarif will take charge of the Strategic Studies Center of the Presidency and will transform the center's functions and tasks into an appropriate structure for the strategic deputyship of the presidency. This means that under the new decree, Mr. Zarif will lead the Strategic Studies Center of the Presidency and report to the President as the strategic deputy, with 'government agencies and institutions providing necessary cooperation.' Mohammad Javad Zarif served as Minister of Foreign Affairs during the presidencies of Hassan Rouhani in both the eleventh and twelfth governments. He is a close associate of Mr. Pezeshkian, having accompanied him throughout the electoral campaign and claimed he would not accept any position if Pezeshkian were elected President. On the same Thursday, Pezeshkian also appointed Mohammad Jafar Qaimpanah as the Deputy for Executive Affairs and head of the Presidential Institution. Mr. Qaimpanah is an ophthalmologist and cornea specialist and a faculty member at Iran University of Medical Sciences. In December 2022, during the 'Women, Life, Freedom' protests, he warned in a video about the use of pellet guns by security forces and the blinding of protesters. In that month, over 140 ophthalmologists issued a statement indicating that a significant number of protesters had sought medical attention due to injuries from pellet and paintball gun projectiles. Pezeshkian is expected to soon introduce his ministers for the fourteenth government to the Islamic Consultative Assembly.