I think, to some degree, Haitham does possess emotional empathy, but cognitive empathy is what he has the most of, and it's what he trusts the most. He and Kaveh are like two sides of the same coin, from my perspective. There is lack, in certain areas, for one of them, in which the other makes up for - and vice versa.

In my own opinion, there has to be some degree of one, in order to understand that the other more aligns with you. In Haitham's case, possessing a certain level of emotional empathy to understand that cognitive empathy is what he possesses. You're very much correct, they do go hand-in-hand, and they must, in order for a person to have high emotional intelligence and understand that one side of the spectrum is more attuned to them.

This is a very solid observation, and it makes me wonder how much of the first he has, in order to realise that he is of the second. Because emotional empathy generally is said to have its foundation in the individual with certain emotions and situations.

Did it start to make sense to him when his parents passed? When his grandmother passed? Or did it come late, when he had his falling out with Kaveh? Which moment do you think it made sense, to him?