Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif got an ambiguous reception from his online followers, after he invited them via Instagram to watch his TED talk on YouTube, without taking into consideration the fact that both online platforms are banned in Iran.
The TED talk format usually features a prolonged discussion on philosophical, cultural or scientific matters and Mr. Zarif shared his thoughts about “four mistakes in our negotiations we need to be aware of” at the Amirkabir University in Tehran earlier in August.
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After giving the lecture, Zarif then used his Instagram account, which has more than 700,000 followers, to share a screenshot from his speech, as well as the link to a YouTube video followed by a comment “Greetings from Beijing; after a few months, TED released my speech at Amirkabir University. Friends who would like to be able to see movies should use the following address.”
The description under YouTube video suggested that “after four decades of being a diplomat with countless negotiations” Zarif would share “his long-earned wisdom about four big mistakes we make in our communications."
Zarif then posted another photo of himself during the talk on Instagram, where he summarised the points made during the talk, by arguing that mistakes in communication could be made in different type of relationships, not only diplomatic ones.
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However, Zarif’s wider audience was not so much impressed by the minister’s speech, but rather by the fact that he used a blocked online platform to advertise a video on another online platform, which is also banned in Iran.
While some Instagram users joked that they will certainly watch the video when “YouTube fixes the filter”, others directly asked Zarif whether he could recommend any “strong filter breaker” to watch his speech. Some even resorted to less diplomatic language, along the lines of “filter yourself, then go see.”
Javad Zarif is known for widely posting on his Twitter account - which currently has more than a million subscribers. He recently made several posts during his surprise visit to the G7 summit where he held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron .
Iran's active diplomacy in pursuit of constructive engagement continues.
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) August 25, 2019
Met @EmmanuelMacron on sidelines of #G7Biarritz after extensive talks with @JY_LeDrian & Finance Min. followed by a joint briefing for UK/Germany.
Road ahead is difficult. But worth trying. pic.twitter.com/oXdACvt20T
The Twitter platform is also unavailable in Iran, with the authorities citing security reasons and social unrest for the ban.
