Hossein Amir-Abdollahian
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (Persian: حسین امیرعبداللهیان; born 23 April 1964) is an Iranian politician, diplomat and current foreign minister of Iran.[2] He was formerly the deputy foreign minister for Arab and African Affairs from 2011 to 2016.[2]
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian | |
---|---|
![]() Amir-Abdollahian in 2021 | |
Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
Assumed office 25 August 2021 | |
President | Ebrahim Raisi |
Preceded by | Mohammad Javad Zarif |
Ambassador of Iran to Bahrain | |
In office 21 August 2007 – 4 September 2010 | |
President | Mahmoud Ahmadinejad |
Preceded by | Mohammad Farazmand |
Succeeded by | Mehdi Aghajafari |
Personal details | |
Born | [1] Damghan, Semnan Province, Imperial State of Iran | 23 April 1964
Alma mater | University of Tehran Iranian Foreign Ministry College of International Relations |
He was special aide to the speaker of the Iranian Parliament on international affairs, Director General of International Affairs of the Islamic Consultative Assembly from the presidency of Ali Larijani to the presidency of Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Secretary-General of the Permanent Secretariat of the International Conference in Support of the Palestinian Intifada, Managing Director of Palestine Strategic Dialogue Quarterly.[3][4][5]
He is a well-known figure in the State Department, and his outspoken and active international and regional stance has highlighted him in the crises of Iraq, Syria, and developments in West Asia and North Africa.[6] He holds a Ph.D. from Tehran University in international relations.
He was appointed Deputy Foreign Minister during the ministry of Ali Akbar Salehi, which was retained in the first three years of Mohammad Javad Zarif's ministry. He is currently professor at the Foreign Ministry's School of International Relations.[7]
After the implicit resignation of Zarif, the name of Amirabdollahian was mentioned by some media outlets as one of the candidates for the post of minister, who was close to Ali Larijani, the speaker of the then Iranian parliament.[6]
Early life and education
Amirabdollahian was born in 1964 in Damghan. At the age of 6-7, he lost his father. He was married in 1994 and has a son and a daughter. He holds a Ph.D. from Tehran University in international relations and is said to be fluent in Arabic and English,.[6]
Affiliation
Amirabdullahian's positions are more reflective of Seyyed Ali Khamenei and do not fit in clearly within either reformists or fundamentalist trends in the Iranian political discourse. Some of his stances are in a way that supports the so-called Resistance Front, which is affiliated with Hezbollah in Lebanon, Syria, and other currents aligned with the Islamic Republic of Iran that are in conflict with Israel.[8]
He was a member of the Political and Security Committee of the Nuclear Negotiations during the nuclear talks during the presidency of Seyyed Mohammad Khatami. He is the first Iranian official to be invited to London for regional talks after the reopening of the London embassy in Tehran during Hassan Rouhani's first term, and to meet with then-British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond. He has detailed regional talks with Federica Mogherini on his file, and has had detailed meetings with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Hezbollah-Lebanon Secretary-General Seyed Hassan Nasrallah.[9]
Negotiation with the United States
He was the head of the Iranian negotiating team at the Iran-Iraq-US trilateral meeting in Baghdad in 2007. The meeting was held to secure Iraq at the request of the Americans, who called the situation in Iraq dangerous. The talks failed after three sessions without result. Amirabdollahian later said of the talks that the Americans left the scene when they heard a logical word and did not have a logical answer. At the beginning of the US negotiations, they thought that they should set the agenda, but the Islamic Republic did not allow them to do so, and it was decided that the agenda should be set by agreement of the parties.[10][11]
Communication with Qasem Soleimani
He had a close relationship with Qasem Soleimani, and this was due to two decades of responsibility in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, especially in the Arab and African positions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran. When Soleimani became commander of the Quds Force, Amirabdollahian was an Iraqi expert at the Foreign Ministry. During the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, with the overthrow of Saddam, he became in charge of Iraq at the State Department.
Amirabdollahian later during a meeting with European delegations and officials said that you should thank the Islamic Republic and Soleimani because Soleimani has contributed to world peace and security. He believes that without Soleimani, the major countries in the region would have disintegrated.[12]
Career
![](../I/Hossein_Amir-Abdollahian_and_Liz_Truss_at_76th_UNGA.jpg.webp)
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- The former Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs
- Special aide to the speaker of the Iranian Parliament on international affairs
- Director General of International Affairs of the Islamic Consultative Assembly
- Secretary-General of the Permanent Secretariat of the International Conference in Support of the Palestinian Intifada
- Managing Director of Palestine Strategic Dialogue Quarterly
- Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Bahrain
- Deputy Director-General of the Persian Gulf Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Member of the founding board of the Center for West Asian Studies
- Visiting Professor, Faculty of World Studies, University of Tehran
- Visiting Professor, Faculty of International Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs[13][14]
Foreign Minister (2021–present)
![](../I/Fumio_Kishida_and_Hossein_Amir-Abdollahian_at_the_Kantei_2023_(1).jpg.webp)
Since 2021, Iraq has hosted five rounds of direct talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which cut diplomatic ties in 2016. The 6th round of talks on a ministerial level stalled, but after a meeting in Amman, Jordan, in December 2022, Abdollahian and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud signaled that both countries would be "open to more dialogue".[15] In January 2023, Faisal speaking at a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos reiterated that "Riyadh is trying to find a dialog with Iran".[16] The two countries announced the resumption of relations on 10 March 2023, following a deal brokered by China.[17] It could lead the way to easing of the Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict, thus bringing stability to Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Bahrain.[18]
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met with the Qatar's Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al Khulaifi in July 2023. They discussed joint work on infrastructure projects.[19]
During a meeting with UN diplomat Tor Wennesland on 14 October 2023, Abdollahian warned that Iran could intervene in the Israel–Hamas war if Israel launched a ground invasion of Gaza.[20]
Research works
Amirabdollahian wrote "Levant's morning" (صبح شام), a narrative of the Syrian crisis. "The inefficiency of the Greater Middle East Plan",(ناکارآمدی طرح خاورمیانه بزرگ), what is the cause of the inefficiency of the Greater Middle East Plan and its relation to the rise of the Islamic Awakening?, "Conflicting US Democracy in the New Iraq" (دموکراسی متعارض ایالات متحده آمریکا در عراق جدید) and "Dual containment" (استراتژی مهار دوگانه) Explain the strategy of containment of Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Iran.[14]
References
- "Hacktivists Target Iran's Foreign Ministry, Leak Trove Of Data". Iran International. 7 May 2023.
- "Deputy for Arab-African Affairs". Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- "Amirabdollahian became the international director general of the parliament and Shaykh al-Islam became Zarif's advisor". 24 July 2016.
- "Palestinian Strategic Discourse Quarterly". 8 October 2018.
- "Unity is the secret behind the Resistance's victories". 28 May 2021.
- "Amir-Abdollahian: The Soft Face of Iran's Hard Power". Middle East Institute.
- "Introduction to the biography of Dr. Hossein Amirabdollahian". Archived from the original on 2014-07-16.
- "Why in Syria the word of the last option Is?". 13 September 2013.
- "what-will-raisis-cabinet-look-like-hardline-and-full-of-war-vets". 23 June 2021.
- "Gravitas: Hossein Amir-Abdollahian appointed as Iran's Foreign Minister". WION.
- "The United States has asked Iran for help in overcoming the dangerous situation in Iraq". 6 August 2007.
- "ناگفتههایی در مورد سپهبد شهید سلیمانی از زبان حسین امیرعبداللهیان". پایگاه خبری جماران. October 15, 2023.
- "Amirabdollahian became the international director-general of the parliament and Shaykh al-Islam became Zarif's advisor". 24 July 2016.
- "Biography of Dr. Hossein Amirabdollahian".
- Motamedi, Maziar (21 December 2022). "Saudi Arabia wants dialogue after Jordan meeting: Iran minister". Al Jazeera.
- "Davos 2023: Saudi FM says Riyadh trying to find path to dialogue with Iran" Reuters. 17 January 2023.
- Gans, Jared (2023-03-11). "Five things to know about the Iran-Saudi deal brokered by China". The Hill.
- Bishara, Marwan (12 March 2023). "The Saudi-Iran détente and its regional implications". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
- "Qatar's foreign minister travels to Iran for talks". 24 July 2023.
- "Israel vs Hamas: Iran threatens to intervene if Israel doesn't stop attacking Gaza, says report". WION. 16 October 2023. Archived from the original on 17 October 2023.
External links
Media related to Hossein Amir-Abdollahian at Wikimedia Commons
Quotations related to Hossein Amir-Abdollahian at Wikiquote