Abbas Araghchi | |
|---|---|
عباس عراقچی | |
.jpg) Araghchi in 2024 | |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| Assumed office 21 August 2024 | |
| President | Masoud Pezeshkian |
| Preceded by | Ali Bagheri (acting) |
| ActingSpokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 11 May 2013 – 28 August 2013 | |
| President | Mahmoud Ahmadinejad |
| Preceded by | Ramin Mehmanparast |
| Succeeded by | Marzieh Afkham |
| Ambassador of Iran to Japan | |
| In office 4 January 2008 – October 2011 | |
| President | Mahmoud Ahmadinejad |
| Preceded by | Mohsen Talaei |
| Succeeded by | Majid Matlabi Shabestari (acting) |
| Ambassador of Iran toFinland Accredited Ambassador toEstonia | |
| In office 19 December 1999 – 6 September 2003 | |
| President | Mohammad Khatami |
| Preceded by | Mahmoud Boroujerdi |
| Succeeded by | Javad Kachoueian |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1962-12-05)5 December 1962 (age 62)[1] |
| Alma mater | School of International Relations Islamic Azad University Central Tehran Branch University of Kent |
| Awards | Order of Merit and Management(2nd class)[2] |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Iran |
| Branch/service | Revolutionary Guards |
| Years of service | 1979–1988[3] |
| Battles/wars | Iran–Iraq War |
Abbas Araghchi (Persian:عباس عراقچی,pronounced[ʔæbˌbɒːseæɾɒːˈɢtʃi]ⓘ; also spelledAraqchi,[4] born 5 December 1962)[5] is an Iranian diplomat and politician, who has served as theforeign minister of Iran since August 2024. He previously served as thespokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as the Iranian ambassador to Finland and to Japan.
Araghchi was born on December 5, 1962 inTehran, Iran, to a prominentPersian carpet merchant family. He has three sisters and three brothers, most of whom are involved in trade and commerce. His grandfather was a carpet trader. His father died when he was 17. As a teenager, he took part in the1979 Islamic Revolution, after which he joined theIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, where he served for almost ten years and fought in theIran–Iraq War.[6][7]
His two older brothers hold significant positions, with one being a member of the Board of Directors of the Exporters Union, and the other a member of the Sellers Union.[8] His nephew Ahmad Araghchi, theCentral Bank of Iran’s deputy governor for foreign exchange, was dismissed from his post and subsequently arrested along with several others amid a widening investigation into Iran’s currency crisis.[9] In 2019, Ahmad Araghchi was the political deputy at the foreign ministry.[10]
Araghchi was married to Bahareh Abdollahi,[11] and they have two sons and a daughter.[12] He divorced her and married again with Arezoo Ahmadvand with whom he has a daughter.[13]
Araghchi earned abachelor's degree in international relations from theSchool of International Relations, affiliated with theMinistry of Foreign Affairs. He then obtained a master's degree in political science fromIslamic Azad University in Tehran.[7] Additionally, Araghchi holds aPh.D. in political thought from theUniversity of Kent with a thesis entitled 'The evolution of the concept of political participation in twentieth-century Islamic political thought' (1996).[14][15][16] He is fluent in Arabic and English.[17]
Araghchi joinedIran's foreign ministry in 1989. In the 1990s, he served aschargé d'affaires at Iran's permanent mission to theOrganisation of Islamic Cooperation, based inJeddah, Saudi Arabia, and later as director general of theInstitute for Political and International Studies (IPIS).[1] From 1999-2003, he was ambassador toFinland.[1]
He was dean of theSchool of International Relations from 2004 to 2005,[1] and served as deputy foreign minister from 2005 to 2007.[18] From 2008 to 2011, he was ambassador toJapan.[18]
Between 2011 and 2013, he held the post of deputy for Asia–Pacific and the Commonwealth Affairs.[19] In 2013, he again became deputy foreign minister and also served as the spokesperson for the ministry.[18]
Araghchi acted as Iran's chief nuclear negotiator in talks with theP5+1, under presidentHassan Rouhani[20] leading up to the 2015Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action between Iran and the United States.
From 2017 to 2021, he served as political deputy at the foreign ministry. In August 2021, Abbas Araghchi was replaced as deputy foreign minister and chief nuclear negotiator byAli Bagheri, following the inauguration of presidentEbrahim Raisi. State media reported that Araghchi’s role was reduced to that of ministry adviser, a move analysts viewed as signalling a shift toward a more hardline approach in Iran’s nuclear policy.[21][22]
Following his removal from the foreign ministry, Araghchi briefly withdrew from public life before being appointed by Supreme LeaderAli Khamenei as secretary of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, an advisory body to the Office of the Supreme Leader. The appointment, viewed as unexpected by observers, restored his influence in foreign policy circles and positioned him closer to Khamenei’s inner circle.[7]
Araghchi was nominated to be presidentMasoud Pezeshkian's foreign minister as of 11 August 2024[23] and eventually became Minister of Foreign Affairs following a vote of confidence by theIslamic Consultative Assembly on 21 August.[24] In a December interview he said that "2025 will be an important year regarding Iran's nuclear issue." This coming as a reaction toDonald Trump's soon to start his role as new US president, talks of new economic sanctions, and theIranian rial reaching a low of 820,500 to the dollar.[25]
In January 2025, Araghchi became the first Iranian foreign minister to visit Afghanistan since 2017, and the first to visit since theTaliban takeover in 2021.[26] In April and May 2025, Araghchi was involved in thenegotiations with the United States aboutIran's nuclear program.[27]
Media related toAbbas Araghchi at Wikimedia Commons
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| New title Office established | Permanent Representative of Iran to theOIC Acting 1991 | Succeeded by Sabbah Zanganeh |
| Preceded by Mahmoud Boroujerdi | Ambassador of Iran toFinland Accredited Ambassador toEstonia 1999–2003 | Succeeded by Javad Kachoueian |
| Preceded by Mohsen Talaei | Ambassador of Iran to Japan 2008–2011 | Succeeded by Majid Matlabi Shabestari Acting |
| Preceded byasChief Nuclear Negotiator | Head of Iran'sJCPOA Follow-up Commission 2015–2021 | Succeeded by |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by ? | Director-general of theIPIS 1999 | Succeeded by Mohammad-Kazem Sajjadpour |
| Preceded by Massoud Eslami | Dean of theSchool of International Relations 2004–2005 | Succeeded by Ala'-addin Vahid Gharavi |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Gholam-Ali Khoshroo | ViceMinister of Foreign Affairs for Legal and International Affairs 2005–2008 2013–2018 | Succeeded by Pirooz Hosseini Acting |
| Preceded by Mohammad-Mehdi Akhoundzadeh | Succeeded by Gholam-Hossein Dehghani | |
| Preceded by Mohammad-Ali Fathollahi | ViceMinister of Foreign Affairs for Asia–Pacific and the Commonwealth Affairs 2011–2013 | Succeeded by Ebrahim Rahimpour |
| Preceded by | Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran Acting 2013 | Succeeded by |
| New title Office re-established since 1988 | ViceMinister of Foreign Affairs for Political Affairs 2018–2021 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Ali Bagheri Acting | Minister of Foreign Affairs 2024–present | Incumbent |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by Mohammad-Bagher Khorramshad | Secretary of theStrategic Council on Foreign Relations 2021–2024 | Succeeded by |
Foreign ministers of theBRICS | |
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