Who is Iranian Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani?

Ali Bagheri Kani, a 57-year-old political insider with extensive experience in Iran's diplomatic and security establishment, has been appointed interim foreign minister following the death of his successor, Hossein Amirabdollahian. It was done.

Amirabdollahian died on Sunday in a helicopter crash in Iran's mountainous East Azerbaijan province, along with President Ebrahim Raisi and several other officials and staff.

Bagheri Kani is the obvious choice to serve as acting foreign minister, having previously served as Amirabdollahian's deputy for political affairs. The new foreign minister was born in a village north of the capital, Tehran, into a conservative family that helped establish and strengthen Iran.

His family has played an important role in this country. His father is Mohammad Bagher Bagheri Kani, a prominent cleric who is now 98 years old and a former member of parliament and member of the Clergy Council tasked with appointing a successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, who is 85 years old. He is also a former member of the Expert Council.

and his uncle, Mohammad Reza Mahdavi Qani, a former acting prime minister and interior minister who headed the Council of Experts from 2010 until his death in 2014. Mesbah al-Khoda Bagheri Kani, the younger brother of the new acting foreign minister, is Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei's son-in-law. Bagheri Qani studied economics at Imam Sadiq University in Tehran. The university has produced many Iranian government officials, and his father previously served as its president.

Jalili's close ally

He began his career as a diplomat in the regional division of Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and briefly worked as a political analyst on state television.

He was a longtime close ally of Saeed Jalili, a leading figure in the ultra-conservative establishment who currently holds a senior position in Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC).

Like Jalili, Bagheri Qaani's name is primarily associated with years of talks over Iran's nuclear program, and shortly after Jalili was appointed SNSC secretary in 2007, he became involved in negotiations over Iran's nuclear program. He replaced Djalili during a period of heightened tensions. nuclear issue.

At this point, the SNSC was in charge of processing the nuclear file, and Bagheri Kani also became a senior member of the country's negotiating team, meeting with U.S. and European officials. These negotiations ultimately failed, and Iran was hit with a series of harsh international sanctions.

Mr. Jalili ultimately ran for president in 2013 in an attempt to express his pessimism about the nuclear deal with the West. Bagheri Kani led an unsuccessful election campaign.

This year, centrist Hassan Rouhani, who promised to lift sanctions and end Iran's isolation, won, leaving Jalili and Bagheri Kani relatively on the sidelines.

Rouhani's government was able to reach a nuclear deal with Western countries in 2015, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). However, this did not last long, as US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the deal in 2018 and imposed even tougher sanctions on Iran. Targeting Raishi

 Raisi, who unsuccessfully ran for president in 2017 in an attempt to prevent President Rouhani from being re-elected, was appointed attorney general by Ayatollah Khamenei in 2019. Sanctions have dealt a major blow to the economy and weakened the power of reformers and centrists.

Mr. Raisi welcomed Mr. Bagheri Kani to his team and appointed him as the judiciary's head of international affairs. Mr. Bagheri Kani was also appointed chairman of the Judiciary and Human Rights Council, replacing Mohammad Javad Larijani, who held the position for 14 years.

Efforts were underway to reinstate the JCPOA to ease tensions as US President Joe Biden took office and Raisi was finally elected president of Iran in his second attempt in 2021. Bagheri Kani was appointed chief negotiator shortly before European-brokered negotiations with the United States began in late 2021, replacing Abbas Araghchi, a veteran diplomat who helped negotiate the nuclear deal.

Although the JCPOA remains at an impasse and Iran has now reached the standard of a nuclear power, negotiations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) continue, with Bagheri Qani working with the Iranian Atomic Energy Agency to manage the agency. There must be.

The Iranian government, along with Washington, also keeps communication channels open with Europe, with mediated talks held in Oman this month. Further negotiations, overseen by the acting foreign minister, are expected to take place soon, aimed at de-escalating Israel's war on Gaza.

The late Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian actively represented Iran's interests and alliances throughout the region during the war, traveling to meet with government officials in Syria, Lebanon, Qatar, and other countries. Bagheri Qani is expected to carry the torch, highlighting Iran's call for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and opposing Western presence and influence in the region while supporting allies.