Dr. Zarif is a career diplomat and has served in different senior positions in the Iranian Foreign Ministry and at various international organizations. His responsibility from 1992 until his appointment as Permanent Represetative was Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and 
International Affairs. 

In the past two decades, Ambassador Zarif has played an active role in the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Organization of the Islamic Conference. Most recently, he was appointed by the UN Secretary-General as a member of the Group of Eminent Persons on Dialogue among Civilizations. He has also served as chairman of numerous international conferences. 

In this exclusive interview with Nermeen Shaikh at the Permanent Mission of Iran to the UN, Ambassador Zarif discusses a number of pressing issues including Iran's nuclear program, the insurgency in Iraq, sectarian violence and President Ahmadinejad's controversial comments on Israel.