President Raisi has chosen Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, as an advisor to the speaker of parliament for international affairs

Newly elected President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi named a diplomat sceptical of the West and with close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as his foreign minister. Raisi has chosen Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, currently an advisor to the speaker of parliament for international affairs, as his foreign minister.

Raisi submitted his cabinet nominations to parliament, which is required to review and approve the nominations. Raisi’s choices are unlikely to face any opposition from a parliament that is considered ideologically aligned with the president. It should be noted that many ministers saw this decision coming as Amir-Abdollahian had been present in Raisi’s meetings with foreign guests in recent days in Tehran, fuelling speculation about his role in the new government.

Amir-Abdollahian was Damghan, Semnan province, in 1964. He holds a doctorate in international relations from the University of Tehran and is fluent in Arabic and English.

Looking at his previous political experience, he served as Iran’s ambassador to Bahrain from 2007 to 2010. Also under former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2011, Amir-Abdollahian was appointed deputy foreign minister for Arab and African affairs. He held that position for three years in the next government before being dismissed by outgoing Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

As all eyes are on the nuclear deal, it is still unsure if Amir-Abdollahian will also lead Iran's nuclear negotiations as part of his brief. For the past eight years, the Foreign Ministry has been responsible for the nuclear talks, but this was previously the purview of Iran's Security Council. Raisi has not yet decided which of the two will continue the negotiations in Vienna in the future.

Negotiations with world powers on the renewal of the Iran nuclear deal were suspended after Iran's presidential election in mid-June and are expected to resume in September.

Source: https://www.arabnews.com/node/1909261/middle-east