After the recent controversy over the role of Dr Zarif in the iranian “Nezam”, especially after his controversial appearance at Davos where he met many foreign dignitaries, iranian media reported that Dr Zarif appointed Mohammad Reza Jalaeipour his deputy through his own decree. Jalaeipour is a sociologist and activist with studies in Oxford.
Zarif has been “grilled” for days by the hardliners and ultra-conservatives who claim his appointment is illegal because of the US citizenship of his son. In these days some MPs have even hinted at his connection with the “Savak”, though he clarified that this was not the case.
Zarif is defended by the reformists, who claim that his appointment has been “cleared” by the SL Khamenei himself, and his work is being coordinated step by step with him. This argument has been recently presented in one interview to KhabarOnline (close to the Larijani family) by Ayatollah Mohsen Garavian, a reformist political activist and professor who said that he was present in some meetings in Qom when Zarif stated that he was coordinating step by step with the SL. However, Mehdi Fazaeli, a member of the Office of Preservation and Publication of the Leader’s Works, who often responds to issues about the Leader in cyberspace, tweeted, publishing a picture of the KhabarOnline’s interview with Mohsen Garavian, writing that “The two articles published in KhabarOnline, quoting Mr. Garavian, namely Dr. Zarif’s step-by-step coordination with the Leader of the Revolution in the JCPOA negotiations and his phone conversation with His Holiness at 1 a.m., are incorrect”.
Zarif seems to have cordial relations with Dr Araghchi, saying for example that he is the real “in charge of the nuclear file” instead of Shamkani, rumored in different circles to have this role.
It remains to be seen if Dr Zarif will resist the storm which will likely continue in the coming days.