A few weeks ago, Meta removed the Leader of the Islamic Revolution’s accounts on Instagram and Facebook for supporting the Palestinian resistance.
Zarif in an interview with the English-language Tehran Times newspaper responded on how he thinks this move speaks to Western countries' proclamations on freedom of speech?
"I think that the statements and claims about freedom of speech and freedom of expression were, more often than not, attempts to impose certain political inclinations," Zarif said.
He pointed out that the degree of tolerance for supporting Palestine within the establishment in the United States was basically examined by the way they treated the presidents of various universities who allowed support for the Palestinians.
"They created all sorts of public relations campaigns against these figures, to the point that the president of Harvard had to step down," he added.
Zarif said that the West exercises various means of limiting freedom of expression and freedom of speech while continuing to claim that it supports them.
"So, for those of us who have been exposed to Western universities and Western societies, we know that while there is a degree of freedom of expression, when it comes to areas that the governments feel are explicitly running against their perceived vital interests, then they define a limit," he said.
Zarif further said that he remembered one of the complaints that Pompeo had about his presence in the United States was that Zarif was being interviewed by the American press.
"And one of the reasons they designated me and put sanctions on me was not to be able to communicate with the American people through American media," he further said.
2050