August 2021—Hossein Amir Abdollahian, nominated to become Ebrahim Raisi’s foreign minister, has told the members of the Majlis (parliament) that he will “continue the path” of Qassem Soleimani in his foreign policy.
Amir Abdollahian said that a lot of his experience was during the time that he “cooperated with Soleimani in the foreign policy domain” and promised to “continue Soleimani’s path.”
Soleimani was the commander of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) foreign arm, known as the Quds Force.
Soleimani was in charge of the regime’s terrorist activities abroad.
He directed the regime’s proxy terrorist groups in the region, including Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen.
Soleimani was killed in a drone strike in January 2020 while he was on a secret trip to Iraq.
Abdollahian previously served as the Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs under Javad Zarif and had a very close relationship with Soleimani.
He has a long history of enabling the regime’s terrorist policies in Iraq and other countries of the region.
He was a member of the political-security committee of the Iranian nuclear negotiations team.
Amir Abdollahian’s comments come as no surprise. They are a reminder that terrorism and violence is a key pillar of the regime’s diplomacy.
In a recent interview, Mohammad Javad Zarif, the foreign minister of former regime president Hassan Rouhani, acknowledged that the IRGC dominates the regime’s policies, especially foreign strategies.
Zarif said 98 percent of the regime’s diplomatic achievements, especially in the Middle East, were accomplished by the Quds Force and especially Soleimani.
