In unusual coverage of a diplomatic visit, the Iranian press issued several pictures of new Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif welcoming U.N. Under Secretary General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman, who is also a former senior U.S. official. As Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs from August 2009 to June 2012, he was in charge of U.S. Iran policy. The Iranian press has traditionally issued standard photographs of officials formally sitting next to each other in chairs or across a table. But Mehr News Agency issued a series of candid shots of Zarif’s warm welcome, including the one below on August 26.
The following photograph is from Feltman’s August 2012 trip to Iran with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.
Photo Credits: Mehr News Agency and official website of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei