Hossein Amir-Abdollahian: Iran's FM who was once described "another Qassem Suleimani" dies in copter crash

Iran lost two of its tallest leaders, President Ebrahim Raisi and Finance Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, in a helicopter crash on Monday.

Iran’s Mehr news agency reported that "all passengers of a helicopter carrying Iranian President, foreign minister were martyred" when their helicopter crashed as it was crossing a mountain terrain in heavy fog.

After search and rescue teams located the wreckage in East Azerbaijan province, a senior Iranian officialconfirmed to Reuters that "all the passengers in the helicopter were killed in the crash".

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State news agency IRNA said Raisi and Amir-Abdollahain were flying in a US-made Bell 212 helicopter.

At a time when the Middle East is brewing up with the Israel-Hamas conflict, Raisi and Amir-Abdollahian’s death can further lead to volatility in the region. Both leaders were staunch supporters of Gaza and the loudest voices against Israel’s campaign in Gaza.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Iran's FM who was once described as "another Qassem Suleimani"

When Hossein Amir-Abdollahain took office of foreign ministry in 2021, he was described as “another Qassem Suleimani in the field of diplomacy” by an Iranian lawmaker. The comment was made because of Amir-Abdollahain’s closeness to Suleimani’s views, the commander of Iran’s Quds Force who was assassinated in a US drone strike in January 2020.

Like Suleimani, the deceased finance minister was also well known for his support to the Iran-backed “Axis of Resistance” in the Middle East, the informal Iranian-led political and military groups like Hamas, Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis.

روز پنج‌شنبه هفته جاری در جریان سخنرانی در نشست عالی‌رتبه شورای امنیت سازمان ملل متحد، تاکید کردم که ایران همواره بر عدم توسعه دامنه تنش در منطقه تاکید دارد. ضمن تبیین چرایی و ابعاد پاسخ مشروع کشورمان در حمله موشکی رژیم اسراییل به سفارت کشورمان در دمشق، به صراحت نسبت به هرگونه… pic.twitter.com/9VDkQDUhI9 — H.Amirabdollahian امیرعبداللهیان (@Amirabdolahian) April 19, 2024

The 60-year-old Amir-Abdollahain, who previously served as speaker of parliament for international affairs, once referred to himself as Suleimani’s “soldier”. He said every time he went to a country as a diplomatic and negotiation envoy, he would first consult with Suleimani to get the necessary guidance.

He was born in Damghan, which is 200 miles north of Tehran, but his family moved to the capital when he was six after his father passed away. Amir-Abdollahain and family settled in one of the city’s poorest neighbourhoods, on 17 Shahrivar Street to the south of Mehrabad International Airport. He used to proudly call himself “from the south”- a term generally used for families who live in the poor southern outskirts of Tehran.

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Despite growing up in poverty, in 1991, he received a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the School of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then went on to receive his master’s and doctoral degrees in international relations from the University of Tehran.

He was appointed undersecretary of Iran’s embassy to Iraq in 1997. Previously, Amir-Abdollahain volunteered to serve in the Iran-Iraq war from 1980-1988, which led him to work at the foreign ministry's Iraq desk in 1990 and 1991.

In 2011, due to Amir-Abdollahian’s good relation with the Quds Force and Suleimani, then-Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appointed him as deputy foreign minister for Arab and African affairs, where most activities of the Quds Force took place.

When in 2013 Mohammad Javad Zarif became foreign minister, Amir-Abdollahian was the only deputy foreign minister from the Ahmadinejad era to keep his post, which he held for three more years.

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Following the undeclared resignation of Zarif, various media sources speculated that Amir-Abdollahian was a potential candidate for the ministerial position.

He was clear in his thoughts as to what he wanted to achieve as a foreign minister. “We in the Middle East are looking to consolidate the achievements of the ‘Axis of Resistance’ field,” he said during his parliamentary review for the job.

This thought process seemed in line with President Raisi and his foreign policy goals as well. The IRGC, Sulemani and even Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s trust in him gave Amir-Abdollahain utmost credibility in the Iranian policy and diplomacy arena.

(With inputs from agencies)