Former Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif recalls two historic treaties Iran struck after wars with the Tsarist Empire. Zarif said in his post that those who sought the lost territories under the Treaty of Golestan in 1813 ended up ceding more territory.
He stressed that in order to prevent agreements like this in the future, Iranians must ensure that their ambitions align with their capabilities. The conservative Iranian newspaper Kayhan launched a fierce attack on Zarif, saying "if the Iranian people had chosen and acted on the basis of their capabilities, how could they have carried out the revolution?"