Abbas Araghchi, a 63-year-old diplomat, former member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and former chief nuclear negotiator, has been nominated by Masoud Pezeshkian as Iran’s next foreign minister.
If confirmed by the parliament, Araghchi will become the 67th foreign minister in Iran's history. Known for his pivotal role in nuclear negotiations, Araghchi faced sharp criticism from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei during his last meeting with Hassan Rouhani’s administration for his performance in the final three months of negotiations.
Araghchi is often described as quiet, calm, and somewhat impatient. Reflecting on his experience in the nuclear talks with Western powers, especially the United States, Araghchi once remarked, "I enjoyed our meetings, how a diplomat of the Islamic Republic can negotiate with the American side and not fall short, ultimately achieving our goals."
His involvement in nuclear negotiations began under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency. During the 2015 nuclear talks, he was the second most important figure and continued to work on reviving the deal until the end of Hassan Rouhani’s term, even after Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the agreement. Despite support from Joe Biden’s administration for indirect negotiations, Supreme Leader Khamenei ultimately rejected the draft agreement, deeming it unenforceable.
Following Ebrahim Raisi's election, Araghchi was engaged in the final round of negotiations in Vienna. Despite reports from Iran’s Foreign Ministry that the nuclear deal was ready for revival and that the Biden administration had agreed to remove the IRGC from the list of foreign terrorist organizations, Khamenei dismissed the agreement. In a subsequent interview, Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s then-ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, aligned with Khamenei’s criticism of the agreement.
Amidst this controversy, Araghchi was removed from his post as Deputy Foreign Minister, a position of significant influence within the ministry. He retreated into isolation, involving himself in sports activities, including participating in the bodybuilding federation.
Later, Kamal Kharazi, head of the Strategic Council of Foreign Relations appointed by Khamenei, named Araghchi as the council’s secretary. This appointment drew criticism from conservatives, who, following Khamenei’s harsh words, viewed Araghchi as undeserving of any official position.
Abbas Araghchi's occasional meetings with ambassadors in Tehran, as part of his new role, were generally low-key and didn’t demand much attention. However, after an Israeli-attributed attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Araghchi's statements during a political conference in Qatar took on a different tone. He suggested that Iran might reconsider its nuclear doctrine. Previously, as Deputy Foreign Minister, he had hinted that if UN Security Council sanctions were reimposed on Iran, the country might withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). This, in essence, implied that despite Khamenei’s fatwa against nuclear weapons, Iran might ultimately pursue their development.
When Kamal Kharazi echoed these sentiments, it raised alarm. The IAEA Board of Governors later cited Iran's vague remarks about its nuclear ambitions, noting that the seriousness and scale of the threat were unclear.
After his removal from the Deputy Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Araghchi found time to write two books: one memoir of his time in Japan and another on his negotiations with foreign powers. Excerpts from this second book were released during the Tehran Book Fair, coinciding with the helicopter crash that killed Hossein Amirabdollahian, the foreign minister in Raisi’s government. Araghchi likely had no idea that within two months he would be nominated as the next foreign minister.
Before entering the nuclear negotiations, Araghchi served as Iran’s ambassador to Finland and Japan, having trained at the Faculty of Foreign Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Senior officials within the ministry regard him as a trained diplomat of the Islamic Republic.
During the 2013 election debates, Ali Akbar Velayati, Khamenei's foreign affairs advisor and Iran’s foreign minister for 16 years, criticized Saeed Jalili for his ineffective nuclear negotiations. Velayati revealed that Araghchi had provided him with detailed reports on Jalili’s lack of progress, which he then relayed to Khamenei. After Rouhani’s electoral victory, Araghchi’s role became central, in contrast to his sidelined position during Ahmadinejad's presidency.
Previously, secret negotiations conducted by Iran’s Deputy Foreign Ministry, even without the knowledge of Rouhani (then Khamenei’s representative in the Supreme National Security Council), were unveiled. Mohammad Javad Zarif suggested that talks be held at the deputy foreign minister level of the P5+1 countries, with Araghchi representing Iran whenever the EU’s foreign policy chief was absent.
Wendy Sherman, then US representative in the negotiations, noted that until their first meeting after Rouhani’s government took office, no one on the American side knew Araghchi spoke English - a fact that surprised them. Sherman and Araghchi both became grandparents during the 2015 talks and even exchanged photos of their grandchildren and small gifts.
Diplomats present during the negotiations recall Sherman joking that if the nuclear deal led to the resumption of US-Iran relations, Araghchi would be the ideal choice for the first ambassador from the Islamic Republic to Washington, D.C.
Before the nuclear deal and just three months after nuclear negotiations began under Rouhani’s administration, an interim agreement was reached that paused new sanctions and released part of Iran’s frozen assets. Araghchi played a pivotal role during these negotiations, which ultimately led to the deal a few months later. Two years after that, a temporary agreement in Geneva resulted in the lifting of sanctions by the UN Security Council and the European Union, as well as the suspension of some U.S. sanctions.
While this agreement was primarily focused on Iran’s nuclear program and related sanctions, the Islamic Republic, in cooperation with the Obama administration, managed to resolve issues concerning the embargo on airplane sales and the export of certain Iranian goods like carpets and pistachios.
After the agreement, Araghchi revealed that lifting the sanctions on the sale of Iranian rugs and carpets to America was his initiative, a gesture he described as a gift to his brother, a carpet dealer in Iran. Araghchi mentioned that while his family members pursued various professions, he was the only one who became a diplomat. His wife, Bahareh Abdullahian, is the daughter of a businessman affiliated with the Motalefeh Islamic Party, known for its radical and traditionalist Islamist views.
As a diplomat who came of age after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Araghchi embodies the bureaucratic mindset aligned with the Islamic Republic’s system. He is neither particularly innovative nor bold, contrasting with figures like Ali Akbar Salehi, who initiated direct negotiations between Iran and the US in Oman, or Mohammad Javad Zarif, who engaged in prolonged and high-profile meetings with US officials. Unlike Kamal Kharazi, who made unsuccessful attempts to improve relations between Iran, the US, and Egypt, Araghchi is more conservative, lacking the same level of initiative.
When Khamenei rejected his three-month effort to revive the nuclear deal with harsh criticism, Araghchi did not defend himself, reflecting his cautious and conservative nature. Khamenei granted permission for Araghchi's team to negotiate with the US during Rouhani’s presidency but later prevented the implementation of the agreement, showing that Araghchi’s role was heavily dictated by the Supreme Leader’s will. Consequently, neither the success of the deal negotiations nor the failure of its revival can be solely attributed to Araghchi and his colleagues.
Araghchi’s true capabilities in a more open and non-dictatorial environment remain unknown. He has often expressed his mistrust of the US, a sentiment praised by Khamenei but one that stifles innovation and initiative. This reflects a broader concern and fear that limit the potential of even the most capable individuals.
In nuclear negotiations and efforts to revive the 2014 nuclear deal, Araghchi adopted the Islamic Republic's language of threat. Regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he rejects the two-state solution, indicating that he refuses to recognize Israel even in theory. This stance perpetuates one of the most enduring and complex crises in the Middle East, where Iran has positioned itself as a central player and a barrier to resolution.
Following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, Araghchi publicly stated that the Islamic Republic supports the "Palestinian resistance," including the supply and strengthening of arms, a clear endorsement of Iran's involvement in regional conflicts. This was one of his last public statements before Ebrahim Raisi's death, which positioned Araghchi as a potential foreign minister during a period of intense international isolation for Iran and the rising dominance of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), particularly its Quds Force.
Araghchi, who proudly acknowledges his past membership in the IRGC while distancing himself from the Quds Force, remains a complex figure.
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