Traitor, Servant, Hypocrite: The Shades of Zarif

For some, he is a source of national pride, for others, a traitor to the values of the regime; and for a section of Iranians, merely another brick in the edifice of hypocritical governance and politics. Mohammad Javad Zarif has been at the helm of foreign diplomacy, but for some time now, his positions on freedom, human rights, domestic politics, and livelihood have been gaining broader margins; when he states that no one is imprisoned in Iran for expressing their opinion, when he asserts that being a Baha'i is not a crime in Iran, or when he responds to sanctions by saying, 'We will endure.' At times, he also adopts a revolutionary and nationalist tone for some; when he delivers a fiery speech about the eight-year war or, according to reports, tells the European side during nuclear negotiations, 'Never threaten an Iranian!' However, these days, it is not for any of these ups and downs that his name is on everyone's lips. His name is in the news because the process of addressing his potential impeachment by his conservative rivals begins this week in the Islamic Consultative Assembly. What does this impeachment mean and what political weight does it carry? What is Zarif's position in today's Iranian political landscape? Traitor, servant, or hypocrite and a functional pawn, what do various layers of Iranians think about Zarif? In this program, we will address these questions.