My encounter with Iran’s foreign minister

Last updated on: November 27, 2019 at 11:58 pm by Dan Peterson

My encounter with Iran’s foreign minister 2019-11-27T23:58:03-07:00 Dan Peterson

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The Newport Beach California Temple (Public domain photo by Bytebear at English Wikipedia)

The last thing that we did before heading to John Wayne Airport this afternoon was to take in a session at the Newport Beach California Temple. It was especially nice because we ran into long-time friends there. One, who was there early for his service as an ordinance worker, was actually in the session with us and sat next to me. I’ve known him since I was a teenager; he was, if I’m not mistaken, my priests quorum advisor. He was a longtime friend of my brother. The other, a woman who was serving as an ordinance worker on the session, has traveled with us in the Middle East. It’s always nice to reconnect with friends. But there’s something especially satisfying about doing so in the temple.

When I left the celestial room, a temple worker who was standing in the hallway smiled as I passed by. “Have you just come down from heaven?” he asked. “Yes,” I answered. “In a way, I really have.”

***

“Diplomacy is the Best Way to Achieve Peace With Iran”

You may agree or disagree with the position taken in the article above. Whatever. I would like to take just a moment, though, to mention an experience that my wife and I once had with the Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif. He has been the foreign minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran since 2013. Before that, though, he served as Iran’s representative to the United Nations.

That was when we met him. We were back in New York City at some sort of conference. Ambassador Zarif came to part of the meeting and, afterwards, some of us enjoyed a dinner party at his official residence. At the end, we left his apartment and went out to catch a taxi. We waited there by the entrance to his residence, however, because there was a woman with us whose ride had not shown up. And it didn’t show up, and it didn’t show up.

So Ambassador Zarif came down and invited us back up to wait in his residence. Which we did, for a surprisingly long time.

And then he really opened up. He was astonishingly frank, and I don’t feel comfortable passing on all that he said. One thing, though, I will relate: He had served a stint at the United Nations previously, living in the same neighborhood, and he was very impressed by the difference that Rudy Giuliani had made as mayor. The neighborhood had been crime-ridden and dangerous. Now, it was safe and peaceful. “I would endorse him for the presidency,” said Dr. Zarif, “but somehow I don’t think that it would really help him to have the support of the Iranian U.N. ambassador.”

My wife and I liked him. A lot. (Make of that what you will.)

On a slightly different note: I certainly wish that Rudy Giuliani had remained “America’s mayor.”

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