TEHRAN – A book containing cartoons and satirical poems about Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif and other members of Iran’s negotiating team on the nuclear deal was unveiled during a ceremony at Tehran’s Niavaran Cultural Center on Saturday.

Entitled “Delicate Dimension of Negotiations”, the book has been published under the auspicious of Niavaran Cultural Center Director Seyyed Abbas Sajjadi.

The word delicate refers to the meaning of the Persian word ‘zarif’, and negotiations highlight the nuclear deal that Iran signed with the 5+1 group (the U.S., UK, France, Russia, China and Germany) in July 2105.

“I do not deserve this much kindness and respect. It is the culture of sacrifice, resistance and martyrdom that has preserved this country and has found its way into works by satirists in their poetry and cartoons,” Zarif said at the ceremony. 

“We need to have the power to criticize and accept criticism in a society that is based on friendship, and it is so beautiful to put forth criticism with the language of satire.

“Today, it is the day of expressing thanks to the artists. They lead the society towards more understanding through the language of satire and criticism,” Zarif said.

In his brief remarks Sajjadi said that the book is a combination of cartoons and poetry to narrate a part of this national epic.

A number of artists and poets attended the unveiling ceremony.

Photo: Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif (C) holds a cartoon of himself during the unveiling ceremony of “Delicate Dimension of Negotiations”, a book containing cartoons of Iran’s negotiating team on the nuclear deal, at Tehran’s Niavaran Cultural Center on October 1, 2016. Some of his colleagues are also seen in the photo. (IRNA/Amin Jalali)

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