Zarif Rocks Tehran University

“Blessings upon Muhammad, the spirit of Mossadeq has arrived!”

“Hail to the reforms, hello diplomat!”

“Don’t think of him as delicate, he took on six countries!” (Zarif means elegant in Persian)

This is how students greeted Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif this past week as he entered the University of Tehran's Allameh Amini library auditorium. Zarif was on hand to discuss his recent diplomacy as well as the 100-day bench mark of the Rouhani administration. But this was not a normal or routine university lecture. With the anniversary of the 16th of Azar (Students' Day) approaching, the social and political context of the lecture’s setting could not have been more significant.  In what was described as a “rock concert type atmosphere,” by some in attendance, the auditorium was packed with cheering students, as well as a few who were jeering. The overflow of people was such that people watched his speech from a TV feed from another auditorium. Students and journalists spilled out into the auditorium’s hallways, the library’s front entrance, its walkways, as well as the surrounding staircases.

The Iranian Student News Agency, and the Islamic Republic News Agency, both state-controlled news outlets, were among the left out into the cold. ISNA posted a revealing set of photographs that illustrate a standing room only crowd full of male and female students. Students are shown smiling ear-to-ear and fawning over Zarif, as well as rising out of their seats in roars of applause. IRNA also published its own set of photos. In contrast a few conservative news organizations weren’t able to make their way inside and went on to criticize what transpired inside the auditorium by claiming whatever reasons they could.

Fars News complained that “the venue to hold such an event was not a good choice,” and that university security officials on hand “treated them inappropriately.” The article asks its readers: “The question is, if the University of Tehran can’t provide the facilities for reporters and photographers, then why invite them?” Mashregh News wrote that the event suffered from “a lack of planning on the part of the event organizers,” and that “University of Tehran officials still have yet to provide a convincing answer as to why this was the case.”

What was striking about Zarif’s speech was that he took full advantage of his audience was as well as the historical context of his stage. The Allameh Amini auditorium at the University of Tehran has a rich history as the setting for revolutionary speeches, and Zarif made his speech hree days before the 16^th of Azar, known as National Students' Day and a flashpoint for political upheaval both before and after the 1979 revolution. That historical context, in addition to President Rouhani’s pledge to de-securitize the university atmosphere, created an electric, mood that many said they hadn't experienced since the Khatami era.  

As for the event itself, Zarif began his speech with a jab at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Netanyahu uses lies to destroy the national solidarity of the country, and he should know that these efforts have failed," Zarif said. Zarif spoke candidly about his recent diplomacy in Geneva, so honestly that his statements were deemed controversial by Iranian media outside of Iran. Pro-democracy news website Balatarin published an article titled “On the eve of the 16^th of Azar: Zarif’s controversial speech, the students emotional slogans, and Heydar Moslehi’s reaction.”

Of all the provocative statements that Zarif made, one in particular caught the attention of Heydar Moslehi, the Minister of Intelligence from 2009-2013 under former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In regards to the threat of US military action, Zarif explained: “Westerners aren’t afraid of our four tanks and missiles, they are afraid of our people. Do you honestly think that the US, who with a single bomb can wipe out our entire defense systems, is actually afraid of our defense systems? Is it really because of our strong military might, the US hasn’t stepped up (to the challenge)?” Zarif later returned to the subject again by saying, “Even though I have just said that the US isn’t afraid of our weapons, that doesn’t mean that our weapons are unimportant.”

When reports asked Moslehi how he felt about Zarif’s comments regarding Iran’s defense capabilities against a US attack, Molslehi bluntly stated, “He is an idiot.”

The Iranian Foreign Minister has been on a public relations tear both inside and outside Iran. His success both at home and abroad in pursuing President Rouhani and the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei’s aims have angered ultra-conservatives inside Iran. This past week through conservative news outlets, they publicly denounced Zarif’s attempts to reopen dialogue between the UAE regarding the island of Abu Musa in the Persian Gulf.

As for Zarif, his popularity is at an all-time high. He is considered a political superstar in Iran and recently graced the cover of Aseman magazine beside a stoic image of Iran’s national hero, Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadeq. Unfortunately, for those familiar with Iranian modern history, this can also be a cause for concern. Iranian politics has had a habit of lionizing political heroes only to then see them fall.

As a Foreign Minister, Zarif understands that if he visibly becomes more popular than the Supreme Leader, or even President Rouhani for that matter, he could soon find himself “banished” to the Iranian UN Mission in New York City. It is on this delicate-political tight rope that Zarif has to operate, and if he can survive politically for the next seven years (assuming that Rouhani serves two terms), the Foreign Minister will be 60 years of age in the 2021 Iranian Presidential Elections. Seven political years in Iran seems like a lifetime, but given Zarif’s personal political history and subsequent resurrection, if anyone can pull off such a feat off, it’s “Mr. Smile Diplomacy” himself.