News

Iran Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdullahian, who died in a helicopter crash with President Ibrahim Raisi, was known for his strong anti-Israel sentiments and suspicion of the West.

A professional with close ties to the Revolutionary Guards Work embassy And a conservative figure, Amir Abdullahiyan, took over following Raisi’s victory in the 2021 elections.

State media at the time hailed his support for the ‘Axis Resistance’, an armed group aligned in the Middle East once morest its arch-enemy, Israel.

During Amir Abdullahian’s tenure as Iran’s top diplomat, diplomatic activities were intensified to end Iran’s diplomatic isolation and mitigate the effects of tough US sanctions.

He particularly sought to build relations with Iran’s Arab neighbors, including the regional Muslim power Saudi Arabia.

In a landmark deal brokered by China, Tehran and Riyadh agreed to restore ties and reopen their respective embassies in March 2023.

Amir Abdullahiyan was born in 1964 in the city of Damghan, east of Tehran. He was married and had two children.

Iran’s state television reported on Monday that none of the passengers in the helicopter carrying Raisi, Amir Abdullahian and other officials were alive.

The Iranian Red Crescent confirmed that their bodies were found at the crash site in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province on Sunday.

After the death of Hussain Amir Abdullahian, his deputy for political affairs, Ali Bagheri, has been added to the Foreign Relations Committee.

Ali Bagheri is Iran’s veteran nuclear negotiator and fierce critic of the West. Bagheri is considered close to Iran’s conservatives and a member of the inner circle of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is Bagheri’s brother’s father-in-law.

Amir Abdollahian received a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the University of Tehran in 1991, later a master’s degree and a doctorate in the same field.

As a diplomat in the Iranian Foreign Service, he was posted to Iraq from 1997 to 2001 and Bahrain from 2007 to 2010.

Amir Abdullahian served as Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs during the administration of popular former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

He was involved in efforts to restart stalled talks on Iran’s nuclear program following a deal with Western governments collapsed in 2015 following the United States unilaterally withdrew from the deal in 2018. However, the talks are deadlocked.

Throughout his career, Amir Abdullahiyan was known for his strong ties to the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of the Iranian military.

He was particularly close to Revolutionary Guard general Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US strike in Baghdad in 2020.

Amir Abdullahiyan praised Soleimani’s ‘strategic genius’ for preventing Syria and Iraq from ‘collapsing’.

Amid heightened regional tensions over the ongoing offensive in the Gaza Strip last month and actions by regional Iranian allies, Amir Abdullahian defended Tehran’s first direct attack on its arch-rival Israel.

The attack by Iran was in response to an Israeli attack that targeted Tehran’s consulate in Damascus.

Amir Abdullahian explained the attack as “within the scope of lawful defense and international law.”

He later downplayed Israel’s alleged retaliatory attack on Iran’s central province of Isfahan, saying it amounted to ‘child’s play’.