Hossein Amir-Abdollahian
حسین امیرعبداللهیان
Abdollahian in 2023
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran
Assumed office
25 August 2021
PresidentEbrahim Raisi
Preceded byMohammad Javad Zarif
Ambassador of Iran to Bahrain
In office
21 August 2007 – 4 September 2010
PresidentMahmoud Ahmadinejad
Preceded byMohammad Farazmand
Succeeded byMehdi Aghajafari
Personal details
Born (1964-04-23) 23 April 1964[1]
Damghan, Semnan Province, Imperial State of Iran
Alma materSchool of International Relations (BA)
University of Tehran (MA, PhD)

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]

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 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.[6]

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.[7]

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 in addition to his native Persian language.[7]

Affiliation

Amir-Abdollahian supports the 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

Abdollahian and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud after signing a joint statement on the restoration of diplomatic relations, with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang in the background, 6 April 2023
  • 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)

Abdollahian with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Toyko, Japan, 7 August 2023

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]

On 15 October 2023, Abdollahian met with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Doha, Qatar.[21]

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

  1. ↑ "Hacktivists Target Iran's Foreign Ministry, Leak Trove Of Data". Iran International. 7 May 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Deputy for Arab-African Affairs". Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  3. ↑ "Amirabdollahian became the international director general of the parliament and Shaykh al-Islam became Zarif's advisor". 24 July 2016.
  4. ↑ "Palestinian Strategic Discourse Quarterly". 8 October 2018.
  5. ↑ "Unity is the secret behind the Resistance's victories". 28 May 2021.
  6. ↑ "Introduction to the biography of Dr. Hossein Amirabdollahian". Archived from the original on 2014-07-16.
  7. 1 2 "Amir-Abdollahian: The Soft Face of Iran's Hard Power". Middle East Institute.
  8. ↑ "Why in Syria the word of the last option Is?". 13 September 2013.
  9. ↑ "what-will-raisis-cabinet-look-like-hardline-and-full-of-war-vets". 23 June 2021.
  10. ↑ "Gravitas: Hossein Amir-Abdollahian appointed as Iran's Foreign Minister". WION.
  11. ↑ "The United States has asked Iran for help in overcoming the dangerous situation in Iraq". 6 August 2007.
  12. ↑ "ناگفته‌هایی در مورد سپهبد شهید سلیمانی از زبان حسین امیرعبداللهیان". پایگاه خبری جماران. October 15, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Amirabdollahian became the international director-general of the parliament and Shaykh al-Islam became Zarif's advisor". 24 July 2016.
  14. 1 2 "Biography of Dr. Hossein Amirabdollahian".
  15. ↑ Motamedi, Maziar (21 December 2022). "Saudi Arabia wants dialogue after Jordan meeting: Iran minister". Al Jazeera.
  16. ↑ "Davos 2023: Saudi FM says Riyadh trying to find path to dialogue with Iran" Reuters. 17 January 2023.
  17. ↑ Gans, Jared (2023-03-11). "Five things to know about the Iran-Saudi deal brokered by China". The Hill.
  18. ↑ Bishara, Marwan (12 March 2023). "The Saudi-Iran détente and its regional implications". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  19. ↑ "Qatar's foreign minister travels to Iran for talks". 24 July 2023.
  20. ↑ "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.
  21. ↑ "Report: Hamas chiefs were asked to leave Turkey after October 7 attacks". The Times of Israel. 23 October 2023.
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