Iran’s possible new foreign minister stirs up debate

Iran’s new president, Ebrahim Raisi, has presented his cabinet lineup to the Iranian parliament for approval.

Hardliners control most of Iran’s institutions. Raisi’s cabinet lineup was expected to be affected by this.

Nevertheless, the president’s selection of Hossein Amir-Abdollahian to be Iran’s new foreign minister has sparked controversy.

This boils down to Abdollahian’s reputation as an extremist.

Most of the criticism engendered by the man’s selection for the foreign affairs portfolio focused on the dire consequences of this move on Iran’s relations with the rest of the world.

Iran’s nuclear file is at the center of contention with the international community.

Filling the void

The foreign minister-designate has a wide network of relations in the Arab region, especially with Iran’s regional arms.

This indicates that his selection for the foreign affairs portfolio may mainly aim to compensate for the void left by Qassem Soleimani who was assassinated early last year 2020.

Soleimani’s successor, Ismail Qaani, seems also to have failed in filling in the void left behind by the late Quds Force commander.

Abdollahian was the architect of meetings between the Egyptian Brotherhood and Iranian officials in Tehran when the Brotherhood was in power in Egypt.

Abdollahian is a special assistant for international affairs of the Iranian parliament speaker.

He served previously as his country’s ambassador to Bahrain and was the deputy minister of foreign affairs for Arab and African affairs between 2011 and 2016.

He also worked as the deputy head of the Iranian diplomatic mission in Baghdad between 1997 and 2001.

Abdollahian has a PhD in international relations from the University of Tehran. He specializes in the Arab region.

He is known inside Iran as a figurehead of the Revolutionary Guard Corpse in the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He served as assistant to the Iranian foreign minister during the reign of former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.