What Javad Zarif Said in Private as the War Began

The leaked text that shows another Zarif

If you have read Javad Zarif’s recent Foreign Affairs article, you may be interested in this leaked message, which he sent to an insider circle of Iranian analysts in the early days of the war, just a few days after it began. The message is revealing not only because it is more candid than his later public writing, but also because it shows how he seems to have understood Trump.

Zarif appears to believe that Trump could still be managed through symbolic gestures and a face-saving offer. He writes that war could have been avoided if Trump had been given a proposal he “could not reject,” and says Trump should be offered an “honorable exit.”

Read in that light, the message is striking not only for its harder line, including calls to hit American and Israeli targets and his claim that the UAE is essentially Israel, but also for its stranger passages. Zarif refers to a Chinese prediction of Trump’s defeat, speaks of the “quantum” effects of divine help, recommends repeated recitation of the call to prayer, and repeats a bizarre claim about Trump and Netanyahu sacrificing 200 girls in an Epstein-like manner.

The full text of Javad Zarif’s leaked message follows, along with screenshots of the original Persian message.

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Hi. You and the other friends in this group are all people of judgment and considered opinion. In order to prevent war, I submitted a proposal for several symbolic measures that could give Trump a sense of victory, along with a text that was highly dignified for Iran. But it was not even reviewed, nor did anyone ask for any explanation. In one sentence, before the war, we simply had to accept one proposition: “War is certain unless a proposal is given to Trump that he cannot reject.”

I even said that I was ready, in what would have been a suicidal move, to publish it together with people such as Davutoğlu, Richard Falk, and Amorim (the former foreign minister of Brazil). They had agreed. But until after the announcement of the martyrdom of the Leader, they gave no response.

You may not believe it, but from the day the war began until today, not even a single call has come from my former colleagues in the Foreign Ministry. Therefore, any proposal from me is pointless.

But if you still have influence somewhere, then this is what should be done:

1. For now, we should focus on striking American and Israeli targets. Causing damage to American naval vessels and to the vital interests and wicked leaders of Israel is necessary. Seriously, we should pray for the realization of the prediction of Trump’s defeat (by a Chinese prognosticator). I believe that divine assistance has situational (“quantum”) effects. At the suggestion of one of the awtad, the call to prayer should be recited repeatedly so that the satanic games of Trump and Netanyahu, which, according to what he said, they began by sacrificing 200 little girls (in the Epstein manner) in order to achieve their vile aims, may be nullified.

2. As far as possible, we should refrain from striking the region itself.

We should focus on destroying the bridge between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain (in order to create real deterrence against actual wrongdoing in the islands) and on striking the UAE (despite all the losses this would entail for Iran). The UAE means Israel.

3. We should not reject proposals for mediation.

4. We should provide Trump with an honorable exit.

5. After two catastrophic experiences, let us finally accept that even before the 12-day war, no plan focused solely on the nuclear issue was feasible, and none will be.

6. We should pay attention to symbolic measures.

7. Trump has no patience for long and technical plans.

8. Although after the martyrdom of Hazrete Agha (the Supreme Leader), even saying these words is agonizing for me, the only thing that can calm Trump is a formal announcement of the end of the 47-year hostility between Iran, America, and its allies.

9. And finally, more important than any other measure is attention to the people. We should avoid actions that anger any segment of the people. We should win the people’s hearts.

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