Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (; 23 April 1964 – 19 May 2024) was an Iranian politician and diplomat who served as

foreign minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

of Iran from 2021 until his death in a helicopter crash in 2024. He was the deputy foreign minister for Arab and African Affairs between 2011 and 2016. Amir-Abdollahian was special aide to the speaker of the Iranian Parliament on international affairs, Director General of International Affairs of the

Islamic Consultative Assembly The Islamic Consultative Assembly (), also called the Iranian Parliament, the Iranian Majles (Arabicised spelling Majlis) or ICA, is the unicameral national legislative body of Iran. The parliament currently consists of 290 representatives, an i ...

from the presidency of

Ali Larijani Ali Ardashir Larijani (born 3 June 1958) is an Iranian politician and former military officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who served as the Speaker of the Parliament of Iran from 2008 to 2020. He has been a member of the Expediency ...

to the presidency of

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (, born 23 August 1961) is an Iranian Iranian Principlists, conservative politician, former military officer, and current List of Speakers of the Parliament of Iran, Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, Parli ...

, Secretary-General of the

Permanent Secretariat A permanent secretary is the most senior civil servant of a department or ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are the non-political civil service chief executives of government d ...

of the

International Conference on Supporting Palestine Intifada The International Conference on Supporting Palestine Intifada is a conference on supporting Palestine (region), Palestine's Intifada by the Islamic Republic of Iran. Diverse authorities and political activists from different countries of the world ...

, managing director of Palestine Strategic Dialogue Quarterly. He was appointed Deputy Foreign Minister during the ministry of

Ali Akbar Salehi Ali Akbar Salehi (, ; born 24 March 1949) is an Iranian academic, diplomat and former head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, who served in this position from 2009 to 2010 and also from 2013 to 2021. He served for the first time as head ...

, which was retained in the first three years of

Mohammad Javad Zarif Mohammad Javad Zarif (; born 8 January 1960) is an Iranian career diplomat and academic. He served as the vice president for strategic affairs from August 2024 to March 2025.

Early life and education

Amir-Abdollahian was born in 1964 in

Damghan Damghan () is a city in the Central District (Damghan County), Central District of Damghan County, Semnan province, Semnan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. It is east of Tehran on the high-road to Mash ...

. At the age of 6–7, he lost his father. He was married in 1994 and had a son and a daughter. Amir-Abdollahian had a bachelor's degree in Diplomatic Relations from the Faculty of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a master's degree in International Relations from the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences of

Tehran University The University of Tehran (UT) or Tehran University (, ) is a public collegiate university in Iran, and the oldest and most prominent Iranian university located in Tehran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as ...

, and a PhD in International Relations from

Affiliation

Amir-Abdollahian supported the Resistance Front, which is affiliated with

Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...

in Lebanon, Syria, and other currents aligned with the Islamic Republic of Iran that are in conflict with Israel. He was a member of the Political and Security Committee of the Nuclear Negotiations during the nuclear talks during the presidency of

Mohammad Khatami Mohammad Khatami (born 14 October 1943) is an Iranian politician and Shia cleric who served as the fifth president of Iran from 3 August 1997 to 3 August 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture from 1982 to 1992. Later, he was critic ...

. He was the first Iranian official to be invited to London for regional talks after the reopening of the London embassy in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

during

Hassan Rouhani Hassan Rouhani (; born Hassan Fereydoun, 12 November 1948) is an Iranian peoples, Iranian politician who served as the seventh president of Iran from 2013 to 2021. He is also a sharia lawyer ("Wakil"), academic, former diplomat and Islamic cl ...

's first term, and to meet with then- British Foreign Secretary

Philip Hammond Philip Hammond, Baron Hammond of Runnymede (born 4 December 1955) is a British politician and life peer who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2016 to 2019 and Foreign Secretary from 2014 to 2016, having previously served as Defence ...

. He detailed regional talks with

Federica Mogherini Federica Mogherini (; born 16 June 1973) is an Italian politician who served as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission from 2014 to 2019. A member of the Democratic ...

on his file, and had detailed meetings with

UN Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean minister ...

and Hezbollah-Lebanon Secretary-General

Hassan Nasrallah Hassan Nasrallah (, ; 31 August 196027 September 2024) was a Lebanese cleric and politician who served as the third secretary-general of Hezbollah, a Shia Islamist political party and militia, from 1992 until his assassination in 2024. Bor ...

Negotiation with the United States

He was the head of the Iranian negotiating team at the Iran-Iraq-US trilateral meeting in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

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. Amir-Abdollahian later said of the talks that the Americans left the scene when they heard a logical word and did not have a logical answer. He further elaborated about the beginning of the US negotiations that the US 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.

Communication with Qasem Soleimani

He had a close relationship with

Qasem Soleimani Qasem Soleimani (; 11 March 1957 – 3 January 2020) was an Iranian military officer who served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). From 1998 until Assassination of Qasem Soleimani, his assassination by the United States in 2020, h ...

, 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 The Quds Force () is one of five branches of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). It specializes in unconventional warfare and military intelligence operations. U.S. Army's Iraq War General Stanley McChrystal describes the Quds Fo ...

, Amir-Abdollahian was an Iraqi expert at the Foreign Ministry. During the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, with the overthrow of Saddam, he came to be in charge of Iraq at the State Department. Amir-Abdollahian later during a meeting with European delegations and officials said that they should thank the Islamic Republic and Soleimani because Soleimani had contributed to world peace and security. He believed that without Soleimani, the major countries in the region would have disintegrated.

Career

Amir-Abdollahian was visiting professor at the Faculty of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Foreign minister (2021–2024)

Since 2021,

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

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 Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

, in December 2022, Abdollahian and Saudi Foreign Minister

Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah bin Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud (, DMG Faiṣal b. Farḥān Āl Saʿūd; born 1 November 1974) is a Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabian diplomat and politician who has been serving as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ...

signaled that both countries would be "open to more dialogue". In January 2023, Faisal speaking at a panel at the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

Davos Davos (, ; or ; ; Old ) is an Alpine resort town and municipality in the Prättigau/Davos Region in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of (). Davos is located on the river Landwasser, in the Rhaetian ...

reiterated that "Riyadh is trying to find a dialog with Iran". The two countries announced the resumption of relations on 10 March 2023, following a deal brokered by China. It could lead the way to easing of the

Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict Iran and Saudi Arabia are engaged in a proxy conflict over influence in the Middle East and other regions of the Muslim world. The two countries have provided varying degrees of support to opposing sides in nearby conflicts, including the civil wa ...

, thus bringing stability to Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Bahrain. Amir-Abdollahian met with the Qatar's Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al Khulaifi in July 2023. They discussed joint work on infrastructure projects. During a meeting with UN diplomat

Tor Wennesland Tor Wennesland (born 21 August 1952) is a Norwegian diplomat. Holding the cand. theol. degree, he was first hired in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1983. He served as the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process from 20 ...

on 14 October 2023, Abdollahian warned that Iran could intervene in the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

if Israel launched a ground invasion of Gaza. On 15 October 2023, Abdollahian met with

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

leader

Ismail Haniyeh Ismail Haniyeh (, ; 29 January 1962 – 31 July 2024) was a Palestinian politician who served as third chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau from May 2017 until Assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, his assassination in July 2024. He also served as ...

Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

, Qatar. File:Saudi-Iran joint statement signing (2023).jpg, Abdollahian and

Saudi Saudi or Saudi Arabian may refer to: * Saudi Arabia * Saudis, people from Saudi Arabia * Saudi culture, the culture of Saudi Arabia * House of Saud, the ruling family of Saudi Arabia See also *Saud (disambiguation) The House of Saud The H ...

Foreign Minister

after signing a joint statement on the restoration of diplomatic relations, with Chinese Foreign Minister

Qin Gang Qin Gang (born 19 March 1966) is a Chinese former diplomat and politician who served as the 12th Minister of Foreign Affairs (China), Minister of Foreign Affairs from December 2022 to July 2023 and as State councillor, State Councillor from Mar ...

in the background, 6 April 2023 File:Fumio Kishida and Hossein Amir-Abdollahian at the Kantei 2023 (1).jpg, Abdollahian with Japanese Prime Minister

Fumio Kishida Fumio Kishida (born 29 July 1957) is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party ( LDP) from 2021 to 2024. He has been a member of the House of Representatives in the National Diet ...

in Tokyo, Japan, 7 August 2023 File:Abdollahian - Qin meeting (2023).jpg, Iran’s Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

counterpart

met in the Chinese capital

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. 2023 April 6 File:Farhan Al Saud - Abdollahian meeting (2023-04-06).jpg, Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud meeting Amir-Abdollahian (2023-04-06) File:Alen Simonyan, President of National Assembly of Armenia in Tehran, June 2022 (12).jpg,

Alen Simonyan Alen Roberti Simonyan (; born 5 January 1980) is an Armenian politician currently serving as the president of the National Assembly of Armenia since 2 August 2021. He served as the acting president of Armenia from 1 February 2022 to 13 March ...

, President of

National Assembly of Armenia The National Assembly of Armenia (, ''Hayastani Hanrapetyut'yan Azgayin zhoghov'' or simply Ազգային ժողով, ԱԺ, ''Azgayin Zhoghov'', ''AZh''), also informally referred to as the Parliament of Armenia (խորհրդարան, ''khor ...

,June 2022

Personal life

Amir-Abdollahian was married and had two children.

Death

Ilham Aliyev and President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi met at the Azerbaijan-Iran state border - 02

On 19 May 2024, a helicopter carrying Amir-Abdollahian and President

Ebrahim Raisi Ebrahim Raisolsadati (14 December 1960 – 19 May 2024), better known as Ebrahim Raisi, was an Iranian politician who served as the eighth president of Iran from 2021 until 2024 Varzaqan helicopter crash, his death in a helicopter crash in 202 ...

crashed near the town of Varzeqan on the

Azerbaijan–Iran border The Azerbaijan–Iran border (, ) is 689 km (428 mi) in length and consists of two non-contiguous sections separated by the 44-km long Armenia–Iran border. Description Western (Nakchivan) section The border starts in the north-west at t ...

; both were found dead at the crash site. The crash was caused by bad weather conditions in the

East Azerbaijan province East Azerbaijan province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Tabriz. The province is located in Azerbaijan (Iran), Iranian Azerbaijan, bordering Armenia, the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan, Ardabil pro ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. Following a joint funeral ceremony with other victims of the crash in Tehran, he was buried at the

Shah Abdol-Azim Shrine The Shāh Abdol-Azīm Shrine (; ) is a Twelver Twelver Shi'ite funerary monument and religious complex, located in Rey, in the province of Tehran, Iran. The complex contains the tomb of ‘Abdul ‘Adhīm ibn ‘Abdillāh al-Hasanī (aka Sh ...

Ray Ray or RAY may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), the bony or horny spine on ray-finned fish Science and mathematics * Half-line (geometry) or ray, half of a line split at an ...

on 23 May.

Research works

Amir-Abdollahian wrote ''Levant's Morning'' (), a narrative of the Syrian crisis. ''The Inefficiency of the Greater Middle East Plan'' () – "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'' () and ''Dual Containment'' () – explaining the strategy of containment of Iraq and Iran.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Amirabdollahian, Hossein 1964 births 2024 deaths People from Semnan province Ministers of foreign affairs of Iran Ambassadors of Iran to Bahrain University of Tehran alumni 20th-century Iranian educators 21st-century Iranian diplomats 21st-century Iranian politicians Academic staff of the Faculty of World Studies 20th-century scholars Victims of the 2024 Varzaqan helicopter crash Burials at Shah Abdol-Azim Shrine