Mohammad Javad Zarif told Tasnim news agency that he sent a tweet saying: “Happy Rosh Hashana”.
In a Twitter exchange that followed, he also distanced himself from the Holocaust denials of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Iran has a Jewish community of between 25,000 and 80,000 so the fact that Iranian leaders are congratulating Jews on the occasion of Rosh Hashana would not necessarily be controversial, say correspondents.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23990717
Background on Zarif:
Zarif was born on 7 January 1960 in Tehran.[1][2] He studied international relations at San Francisco State University.[3] He attended the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver and obtained a PhD in international law and policy.[4][5]
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In 2000, Zarif served as chairman of the Asian preparatory meeting of the World Conference on Racism and as the chairman of the United Nations Disarmament Commission.
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Zarif is married and has a daughter and a son who were born in the US.[15] He is fluent in English.[9]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammad_Javad_Zarif
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