Abbas Araghchi

Early life and family

Araghchi was born on 5 December 1962 in Tehran, Iran to a Persian 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 the 1979 Islamic Revolution, after which he joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, where he served for almost ten years and fought in the Iran–Iraq War.

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. His nephew Ahmad Araghchi, the Central 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. In 2019, Ahmad Araghchi was the political deputy at the foreign ministry.

Araghchi was married to Bahareh Abdollahi, and they have two sons and a daughter. He divorced her and married again with Arezoo Ahmadvand with whom he has a daughter.

Education

Araghchi earned a bachelor's degree in international relations from the School of International Relations, affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He then obtained a master's degree in political science from Islamic Azad University in Tehran. Supervised by David McLellan, a scholar of Marxism, the thesis argues that modern Islamic political thought has attempted to reconcile the doctrine of divine sovereignty with the concept of popular sovereignty by incorporating aspects of Western democratic theory into Islamic principles, thereby developing democratic institutions within the framework of Islamic law. He is fluent in Arabic and English.

Career

Araghchi joined Iran's foreign ministry in 1989. In the 1990s, he served as chargé d'affaires at Iran's permanent mission to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and later as director general of the Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS). From 1999-2003, he was ambassador to Finland.

He was dean of the School of International Relations from 2004 to 2005, and served as deputy foreign minister from 2005 to 2007. From 2008 to 2011, he was ambassador to Japan.

Between 2011 and 2013, he held the post of deputy for Asia–Pacific and the Commonwealth Affairs. In 2013, he again became deputy foreign minister and also served as the spokesperson for the ministry.

Araghchi acted as Iran's chief nuclear negotiator in talks with the P5+1, under president Hassan Rouhani leading up to the 2015 Joint 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 by Ali Bagheri, following the inauguration of president Ebrahim 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.

Following his removal from the foreign ministry, Araghchi briefly withdrew from public life before being appointed by Supreme Leader Ali 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.

Foreign minister

Araghchi was nominated to be president Masoud Pezeshkian's foreign minister as of 11 August 2024 and eventually became Minister of Foreign Affairs following a vote of confidence by the Islamic Consultative Assembly on 21 August. In a December interview he said that "2025 will be an important year regarding Iran's nuclear issue." This coming as a reaction to Donald Trump's soon to start his role as new US president, talks of new economic sanctions, and the Iranian rial reaching a low of 820,500 to the dollar.

In January 2025, Araghchi became the first Iranian foreign minister to visit Afghanistan since 2017, and the first to visit since the Taliban takeover in 2021. In April and May 2025, Araghchi was involved in the negotiations with the United States about Iran's nuclear program.

In January 2025, Araghchi actively engaged with Hamas leadership following a fragile ceasefire agreement in the Gaza war. In September and October 2025, President Donald Trump proposed that Iran might eventually join the Abraham Accords, presenting it as a potential pathway to regional peace in the aftermath of a ceasefire agreement in the Israel-Hamas conflict. Araghchi firmly rejected these remarks, describing them as "wishful thinking." He emphasized that Iran would never recognize what he characterized as an "occupying regime" responsible for alleged acts of genocide.

During the 2026 Iran protests, which were met with brutal repression by the regime, reportedly killing thousands of protesters, Araghchi claimed that Iran had "witnessed violent acts and terrorism in the style of the Islamic State," framing the protests as having been "sabotaged by terrorist elements." He criticized US statements on human rights in Iran, labeling them as "misleading and shameful." When German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and other European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, condemned the violent crackdown on protesters, Araghchi responded by accusing Germany of having "blatant double standards" concerning its recent support for Israel during the Gaza war, asserting that this stance "obliterated any shred of credibility."

Araghchi referenced a fatal law enforcement shooting in Minneapolis to deflect international criticism of Iran's crackdown on anti-government protests. He criticized the U.S. government, asserting that it lacks moral authority to condemn Iran's domestic security measures while American agents are responsible for killings in U.S. cities.

In mid-January 2026, reports emerged that Araghchi sent a personal message to Steve Witkoff, the U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East, stating that Iran had canceled the planned execution of 800 anti-regime protesters. This communication reportedly played a key role in dissuading President Donald Trump from ordering immediate military strikes against Iran.

In January 2026, the World Economic Forum officially rescinded its invitation to Araghchi for the annual summit in Davos. Araghchi blamed political pressure from Israel and its U.S. allies for the cancellation, calling the decision a result of "lies".

On 21 January 2026, Araghchi stated that 3,117 people had been killed during the anti-government protests that began in late December 2025. However, external organizations and independent officials assert that the actual death toll is significantly higher.

On 23 January 2026, Araghchi publicly insulted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, calling him a "confused clown" in a post on X. The escalation was triggered by Zelenskyy's speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos on 22 January, where he criticized the Iranian government's crackdown on domestic protests and called for international intervention.

Books

Aragchi has written books and articles in relation to diplomacy and international relations, including Negotiations: the Power of Diplomacy published in 2024 (translated into English in 2025). Commenting on the book, The Economist described its title as ironic, given the contrast between the book's theme and the failed Aragchi-led negotiations with the US, which were followed by US airstrikes on Iran's nuclear facilities.

References

References

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