Mohammad Javad Zarif, 66, is a former Iranian foreign minister who served in the government of the reformist Hassan Rouhani from 2013 to 2021. From 2002 to 2007, he was Iran’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and from 1 August 2024 until 2 March 2025 he served as Vice President of Iran before being forced to resign. In 2015, he was one of the principal architects of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal. He is now the founder and president of PAIAB (Possibilities Architects), a non-governmental organisation concerned, among other things, with exploring frameworks for inspiring future possibilities. The group recently established the Middle East Network for Atomic Research and Advancement (MENARAH). He first met Jan Kavan in 2002, when Kavan was President of the United Nations General Assembly.
Read full text