Former Iranian FM Zarif appointed VP for strategic affairs

TEHRAN, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) — Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Thursday appointed former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as vice president for strategic affairs and head of the Center for Strategic Studies, the official news agency IRNA reported.
Pezeshkian made the appointment in a decree after taking oath of office before the Iranian parliament on Tuesday, the report said.
In his decree, the Iranian president called on Zarif to monitor and directly inform him of major domestic and international developments and the administration’s extent of success in achieving the objectives set by the country’s Constitution, as well as implementing the 20-year vision document and general policies introduced by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Zarif, 64, was Iran’s foreign minister from 2013 to 2021 in the government of former President Hassan Rouhani.
Pezeshkian on Sunday appointed Mohammad-Reza Aref as his first vice president. ■