Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, a conservative figure who enjoyed the support of the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), has died at the age of 60.
Amir-Abdollahian and ultraconservative President Ebrahim Raisi were returning from a visit to the border with Azerbaijan when their helicopter crashed in Iran's mountainous northwest on May 19, killing all on board.
Tehran's top diplomat was suspicious of the West and a vocal supporter of the "axis of resistance," Iran's loose network of militant groups and proxies, against Israel and the United States.
His appointment in 2021 was seen as part of the Raisi administration's disengagement with the West and its focus on the Middle East region. He was said to be fluent in Arabic, while his English appeared to be limited.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (left) sits next to President Ebrahim Raisi (center) at a conference in Tehran in December 2023.
Born in the northern city of Damghan in 1960, Amir-Abdollahian did not enlist to fight in the devastating 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War and instead attended university and eventually obtained a PhD in international relations.
He climbed the ladder in the Foreign Ministry quickly and his first posting was in Iran's Embassy in Iraq in the late 1990s.
In an apparent sign of the Islamic republic's faith in Amir-Abdollahian, the young diplomat was named to a three-man delegation to represent Iran in rare talks with the United States over the war in Iraq.
SEE ALSO: Ebrahim Raisi, The Hard-Line Iranian President Tipped As Next Supreme Leader, Dead At 63Amir-Abdollahian served in various roles in the ministry, notably as ambassador to Bahrain, deputy minister for Arab and African affairs, and head of the Persian Gulf department.
His involvement in Tehran's relations with Iraq and the activities of the IRGC in Iran's western neighbor allowed him to forge a relationship with Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, the IRGC's overseas arm. Soleimani was killed in a U.S. air strike near Baghdad in 2020.
Ahead of his appointment as foreign minister, conservative lawmaker Ali Alizadeh praised Amir-Abdollahian as the "Soleimani of diplomacy."
In 2016, amid rumors that he had fallen out with then-Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, he turned down an offer to become Iran's envoy in Oman and left the ministry.
But Amir-Abdollahian quickly landed on his feet and was appointed as foreign affairs adviser to then-parliament speaker Ali Larijani, where he remained until he was named foreign minister.
Amir-Abdollahian is survived by his wife and their two children.