Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani mounted a rosy defense of Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif after the latter was cornered by the hard-line lawmakers who are in full control of the country’s new parliament.

In a televised cabinet meeting July 8, Rouhani expressed admiration for Zarif as the embodiment of Iran’s political power. Rouhani also borrowed from the “constant praise” that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has lent Zarif and his emphasis that the foreign minister “ought to be respected.”

During his first address to the newly elected legislative body last week, the Iranian foreign minister was heckled by a group of parliamentarians who greeted him with slurs and name-calling. “Death to the liar” and “You’re a traitor,” they shouted before the Iranian top diplomat sarcastically thanked them for their “hospitality.”

The outcry was meant to be an expression of anger against Zarif’s role as the architect of the Iran nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which the foreign minister vigorously backed as a document of “national pride.” Zarif also reminded his critics that “we are all in the same boat” when it comes to Iran’s tensions with the United States, whose departure from the JCPOA in May 2018 has left the multilateral accord in tatters.