ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iran’s deputy foreign minister on Monday responded to criticism of Vice President Javad Zarif over alleged meetings with foreign parties in Davos and said that he had no agenda for negotiations, state media reported. “Mohammad Javad Zarif, the vice president for strategic affairs, did not have any agenda for negotiations with any party in Davos, and basically, any decision-making on important foreign policy issues is made by the highest authorities of the system and implemented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” Vahid Jalalzadeh said, as cited by the state IRNA news agency. Zarif has been condemned by elements of Iran’s society and government and accused of allegedly holding meetings with foreign parties without revealing details of the talks. Hamid Rasaee, a conservative Tehran MP, on Sunday slammed Zarif as being in an “illegal position” and stressed he is not suited to represent Iran abroad. He highlighted Zarif's meeting with six think tanks in Davos, noting that the content of the discussions and the identities of the attendees remain unclear. “He attended the Davos summit at the official invitation of the World Economic Forum and after coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” Jalalzadeh said about Zarif’s Davos visit. He added that all his meetings were held after his suggestions and through coordination with Tehran’s embassy in Switzerland. Zarif, Iran's vice president for strategic affairs, also sparked controversy with his remarks about the enforcement of the country’s hijab law at the forum in Davos, where he said that President Masoud Pezeshkian’s government does not enforce the hijab mandate and many women do not adhere to the law. Zarif previously served as foreign minister in reformist president Hassan Rouhani’s cabinet and took part in negotiating the 2015 Iran nuclear deal with world powers. A seasoned diplomat, he helped open Iran up to the West.
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