Iran's newly nominated foreign minister: New strategy combines military power and diplomacy, focusing on lifting international sanctions
2024-08-16
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The news that Abbas Araghchi, a key representative in the 2015 Iran nuclear negotiations, was recently nominated as the new foreign minister was quickly welcomed by Western foreign policy circles and the Iranian business community. However, his "world view" in the Iranian parliament and his tough statements in his past resume were quickly put under the spotlight by the media for scrutiny.
Abbas Alaghi News Photo
On August 14, an Iranian lawmaker revealed to the UK-based Iran International Television that Araghchi believes that the 2015 Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA, full name "Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action") is irreversible and advocates a strategy that combines military force and diplomacy.
"The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action can no longer be revived. In the new government, our focus is not on restoring the nuclear deal, but on lifting sanctions. We are committed to a strategy that combines diplomatic efforts with military power," Mohsen Fathi, a member of the Iranian Parliament's Health and Medical Committee, quoted Araghchi as saying to the media after listening to his explanation in parliament.
On August 11, 63-year-old Araghchi was nominated as Iran's Foreign Minister by President Pezhichyan, but he still needs to be reviewed and approved by the parliament within a week. Once approved, he will become the 67th Foreign Minister in the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Emphasizing the values of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
On August 12, Araghchi explained his views on international affairs at the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Iranian Parliament, saying that his "worldview" has not changed since he joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Araghchi was born in 1962 into a conservative religious merchant family in Tehran. Like many young Iranians, he volunteered to join the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) at the beginning of the 1979 Islamic Revolution and participated in the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-1988.
"Araghchi's deep ties to the IRGC are not just verbal, but real. They are the foundation of his identity as a diplomat," said a commentary published by Iran International Television, "The IRGC's worldview shapes Iran's future foreign minister's diplomatic path." "His refusal to participate in factional struggles and his claim on Monday (in Congress) that he does not belong to the 'New York Gang' (which may be a reference to reformist former Foreign Minister Zarif) all highlight his closer proximity to the more uncompromising factions of the IRGC."
According to the report, like many Iranian officials, Araghchi regards the late Soleimani, the former commander of the elite Quds Force under the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as "a role model for Iran" and Nasrallah, the general secretary of Lebanon's Hezbollah, as "a role model for Lebanon." Some analysts further believe that his statement may send a signal that Iran will continue its hard-line line in foreign affairs, that is, the deeply rooted anti-Western and anti-Israel principles that have long guided the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Along with his IRGC background, Alaghi's rich experience as a diplomat and the numerous interactions and contacts with Western countries that accompanied it are also talked about by outsiders. After the war, Alaghi joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and received professional academic training in international relations and political science. Later, he went to the UK to hone his fluent English. In 1996, he obtained a doctorate in politics and government under the guidance of Professor David McLellan, a Marxist scholar at the University of Kent in the UK.
In 2008, he became ambassador to Japan, and served as deputy foreign minister for Asia-Pacific affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2011 to 2013. After moderate reformist Hassan Rouhani was elected president in 2013, then-Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif hired Alaghi as his deputy in nuclear negotiations.
Eleven years later, in 2024, the same resume has received a completely different interpretation. "Araghchi's appointment as foreign minister should be seen as a positive development at a time of heightened tensions in the region," wrote a commentary published on August 12 by the Stimson Center, a Washington think tank. "In addition to his long experience in international affairs and nuclear negotiations, he also has strong '(Islamic) revolutionary' credentials, which could partially protect him from domestic criticism if Iran makes concessions on key issues."
The Financial Times reported that Western diplomats in Tehran and Iranian business circles welcomed Araghchi's appointment, saying it was a sign that Iran might take a more pragmatic approach to resolving its long-standing standoff with the West in the hope of obtaining relief from economic sanctions.
Araghchi is seen as an experienced and pragmatic diplomat. "Araghchi is one of the most professional diplomats in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and enjoys a high reputation." Hossein Mousavian, former Iranian ambassador to Germany and spokesman for nuclear negotiations in the early 2000s, believes that "he has no affiliation with any political faction and is respected by most political factions." When Zarif was Iran's foreign minister, Araghchi served as deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs and deputy foreign minister for political affairs. He was the official with second most influence in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after Zarif.
After being marginalized by hardliners, he focused on fitness
The article "Araghi's Personality" published by Iran Link, a British-registered Iranian news website, said that Araghi is often described as quiet, calm, but a little impatient. When recalling his nuclear negotiations with Western countries, especially the United States, he once said, "I enjoyed our talks and how a diplomat from the Islamic Republic could negotiate with the United States without failure and finally achieve our goals."
Image from Visual China of former Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif
Like former Foreign Minister Zarif, Araghchi played a key role in the 2015 Iran nuclear talks. Ambassador Wendy Sherman, the US negotiator at the time, described Araghchi in her 2018 memoir as "steely, determined (and) calm," and an expert in the details of the nuclear fuel cycle. In 2015, Iran reached an Iran nuclear deal with the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany. But in 2018, the Trump administration unilaterally withdrew from the agreement and subsequently resumed and added a series of sanctions against Iran.
After the Biden administration came to power in 2021 to seek to restore the nuclear deal, Araghchi led the Iranian negotiating team in several rounds of negotiations in Vienna. He reportedly had a draft ready for signature at the time. However, as Rouhani revealed after leaving office in June 2021, Araghchi did not have the "power" to finalize the agreement.
When hard-line President Raisi was elected, Alaghi was replaced by Abdullahyan, a professional diplomat who had close ties with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and was fluent in Arabic. The report said that during Raisi's presidency, as Iran's international isolation deepened and the accompanying hard-line factions became more dominant, Alaghi found himself increasingly marginalized.
After retiring from his post as deputy foreign minister, Araghchi focused on sports and joined a fitness union. However, Kamal Kharrazi, foreign policy adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and former foreign minister, appointed him secretary of Iran's Foreign Relations Strategic Council, an advisory body to the Supreme Leader.
In his new role, Alaghi occasionally meets with foreign ambassadors in Tehran and generally keeps a low profile. However, after the Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, Alaghi unexpectedly took a tough stance, saying Iran might reconsider its nuclear doctrine and withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and seek to develop nuclear weapons if UN sanctions are reimposed on Iran.
Guided by "ensuring national economic interests"
The outside world believes that this senior diplomat faces a dual challenge when he takes the post of foreign minister. On the one hand, he has to resume negotiations with Western powers on the issue of lifting economic sanctions, and on the other hand, he has to deal with potential confrontation with Israel.
In a speech to parliament on August 12, Alaghi outlined his priorities for international affairs, promising a "comprehensive, active and effective" foreign policy. He called for building relations with European countries based on "mutual respect" and "managing" hostile relations with the United States. He urged the lifting of US sanctions "with dignity" through "goal-oriented" and serious negotiations.
Similar to many other Iranian officials, Araghchi called for "continued strong relations with China and Russia, and expanded cooperation with emerging economies such as India, Indonesia, South Africa and Brazil."
According to the Tehran Times on August 12, Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesman for the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, revealed that day that in his speech to the parliament, “Araghchi stressed the importance of implementing the parliament’s Strategic Action Law aimed at lifting (international) sanctions and protecting national interests, and claimed that the law should guide (Iran’s) negotiations with foreign entities.”
The report further stated that Araghchi outlined three main goals in the field of Iran's foreign policy: promoting national interests, enhancing national security and regional influence, and maintaining and enhancing Iran's national dignity and status.
Iranian MP Fatih quoted Alaghi's original words on the 14th, saying that Iran's foreign policy should be firmly guided by "ensuring national economic interests." "He claimed that the core task of economic diplomacy is to promote exchanges with the global economy by creating opportunities, formulating strategic directions and removing obstacles to the country's economic activities on the international stage," Fatih said.
The report cited data from analytics firm Kpler showing that Iran's oil sales rose 30% last quarter, pushing its fossil fuel exports to a five-year high, from 400,000 barrels per day following U.S. sanctions in 2019 to more than 1.5 million barrels per day currently.
Sina Azodi, an Iran expert at the University of Washington, believes that despite Araghchi's pragmatic approach to relations with the United States, Iran's foreign minister has limited influence in formulating foreign policy and must constantly deal with the country's deep state institutions, especially the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Zarif called this a struggle between "diplomacy and the battlefield" in 2021.
Zarif recently resigned from his post as Iran's vice president in charge of strategic affairs, expressing his disappointment that the list of 19 new cabinet members did not include representatives of minority groups, shocking the government and the opposition. However, some analysts believe that the new Iranian government may still arrange for him to contact the West in other capacities in the future.
Emil Avdaliani, professor of international relations at the European University of Tbilisi in Georgia and an expert on Middle East issues, recently told The Paper (www.thepaper.cn) that the prevailing view in Iran is to confront the West more fiercely. The extent to which Iran's new president Pezhichyan and his allies can overcome the challenges brought by domestic conservative forces is "very unlikely."
"But this does not mean that conservative forces are not pragmatic," Afdaliani said. "I believe Iran and Western countries will work hard to reach some kind of nuclear agreement, such as a limited agreement, to help Iran get out of its economic difficulties."
Even during the period of hard-line President Lacey, the door to negotiations on the nuclear agreement was not completely closed. In 2023, there was news that the United States had been quietly advancing diplomatic contacts with Iran to negotiate "informal" agreements such as restricting Iran's nuclear program and releasing imprisoned American citizens.
Azodi believes that if Khamenei gives Pezerhiziyan room to seriously negotiate a nuclear deal, Alaghi would be the right person for the job.
The Paper reporter Nan Boyi
(This article is from The Paper. For more original information, please download the "The Paper" APP)
