Anti-Western Diplomat With Ties to Hizbullah Is Iran’s New FM

An anti-Western career diplomat has been appointed as Iran’s new foreign minister. New Iranian hard-line president, Ebrahim Raisi, on Wednesday presented cabinet, made up mostly of fellow hard-liners, to the country’s parliament for approval. The new foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, 56, is known for having close ties to Hizbullah and served as deputy foreign minister for Arab and African affairs under former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He also reportedly has a close relationship with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The appointment of Amir-Abdollahian could spell trouble for Iran’s negotiations with the US and the world powers to resurrect the Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Raisi also nominated a former defense minister and commander of Iran’s Quds Force, Ahmad Vahidi, as his interior minister. Vahidi, who is blacklisted by the US, is wanted by Interpol in connection with the bombing of the AMIA Jewish Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina that killed 85 people and injured hundreds.