Hamid Aboutalebi Explained

Hamid Aboutalebi
Office1:Political Advisor to the President of Iran[1]
President1:Hassan Rouhani
Term Start1:13 November 2017
Term End1:June 2020 [2]
Office2:Deputy Chief of Staff for Political Affairs of the President of Iran
President2:Hassan Rouhani
Term Start2:7 October 2013
Term End2:13 November 2017
Successor2:Majid Takht-Ravanchi
Office3:Ambassador of Iran to Australia
President3:Mohammad Khatami
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Term Start3:2003
Term End3:2006
Predecessor3:Gholamali Khoshroo
Successor3:Mahmoud Movahhedi
President4:Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
Mohammad Khatami
Term Start4:1995
Term End4:2000
Predecessor4:Mohammad Reza Bakhtiari
Successor4:Abolghassem Delfi
President5:Ali Khamenei
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
Term Start5:1988
Term End5:1992
Predecessor5:Gholamali Heydari Khajepour
Successor5:Majid Hedayatzade
Birth Date:16 June 1957
Birth Place:Tehran, Iran
Alma Mater:University of Tehran
Sorbonne Nouvelle University
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

Hamid Aboutalebi (Persian: حمید ابوطالبی, born 16 June 1957)[3] is a former Iranian diplomat and ambassador. Aboutalebi was previously ambassador of Iran to Australia, the European Union, Belgium, Italy, and a political director general to Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[4] He was part of Iran's UN delegation in New York City in the 1990s.

Professional background

Aboutalebi obtained his Ph.D. in historical sociology from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in 1999, after completing master's degrees in sociology (from Sorbonne Nouvelle University, Paris) and in the history of Islamic civilization and culture (from Tehran University). Aboutalebi also earned his bachelor's degree in sociology from Tehran University.[5]

His professional publications include Basic Challenges of U.S Foreign Policy towards Iran (2009),[6] Rocky Mountains of Nuclear Extremism (2009),[7] Turkey: Modern Diplomacy and New Ottoman Caliphate (2009),[8] and New Challenges of Iran Foreign Policy towards the U.S. (2010).[9] He published Anthropology of Ethics; First Volume of Philosophy of Social Ethics in 2013.[5]

Controversy

It has been claimed that Aboutalebi was one of the student radicals involved in the Iran hostage crisis, in which 52 Americans, including diplomats from the US embassy in Tehran, were held captive from 1979 to 1980.[10] [11]

Aboutalebi denied participation in the takeover of the US embassy, emphasising that he was brought in to translate and negotiate following the occupation.[12] Aboutalebi was a student and member of the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, comprising students from several major science and technology universities of Tehran, which occupied the U.S. embassy in Tehran.[13] Ebrahim Asgharzadeh, a leading member of the core group who organized and led the embassy takeover, told BBC Persian that Aboutalebi's involvement was peripheral. "Calling him a hostage-taker is simply wrong", Asgharzadeh said.[12]

Due to the claims, Aboutalebi's appointment as ambassador to the UN was opposed by numerous U.S. lawmakers and diplomats, some of whom asked the US Department of State to deny his application for a visa.[14] [15]

On 1 April 2014, in the United States Senate, Republican Senator Ted Cruz introduced Senate bill 2195, a bill that would allow the President of the United States to deny a visa to any ambassador to the United Nations who has been alleged to have been engaged in espionage activities or a terrorist activity against the United States or its allies, and may pose a threat to U.S. national security interests.[16] The bill was a reaction to Aboutalebi's selection as Iran's ambassador.[17] The bill passed the Senate on 7 April, and the United States House of Representatives on 10 April. President Barack Obama signed the bill on 18 April 2014.

Complicating the situation were the ongoing nuclear negotiations between the United States and Iran.[18] Some have argued that denying Abutalebi's entry to the United States would violate the 1947 treaty agreement which was a prerequisite for the United Nations' agreement to locate their headquarters in New York City.[18] United States government never denied a visa for Aboutalebi. According to the New York Times: "By not explicitly rejecting the visa application, the White House appeared to be leaving Iran a way to resolve the standoff".[19]

Views

He is claimed to be close to The Reformists and to the High Ranked Executives of Construction Party in terms of political bent.

It is speculated [20] that his resignation from his office in June 2020 is related to his views about the principles of negotiation in foreign policy as suggested by a series of tweets [21] in his official Twitter account.

Notes and References

  1. http://www.president.ir/en/101536 Presidency of Iran
  2. 1277496789353091073. DrAboutalebi. با سپاس فراوان، استعفای خود از سمتِ «مشاوررییس جمهور» را تقدیم ریاست محترم جمهوری کرده‌ام... . 29 June 2020.
  3. Web site: Hamid Aboutalebi, next Iranian UN ambassador . 2014-03-18 . 2014-04-16. dmy-all . https://web.archive.org/web/20140416035417/http://www.humanrights-iran.ir/news-36040.aspx . dead .
  4. Web site: Hamid Aboutalebi's positions. 7 October 2013 . 11 December 2022.
  5. http://www.president.ir/fa/72181 سوابق علمی و اجرایی معاون جدید سیاسی دفتر رئیس جمهور
  6. Web site: مرکز تحقیقات استراتژیک - مقالات - چالش‌های مبنایی سیاست خارجی جدید آمریکا درخصوص ایران . 2014-04-08. dmy-all . https://web.archive.org/web/20140408231450/http://www.csr.ir/departments.aspx?lng=fa&abtid=07&&depid=44&&semid=1744 . 2014-04-08 . dead .
  7. Web site: مرکزتحقیقات استراتژیک- گزارش راهبردی - کوهستان‌های صعب‌العبور افراط گرایی هسته‌ای . 2014-04-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140408213426/http://www.csr.ir/departments.aspx?lng=fa&abtid=06&&depid=44&&semid=1705 . 2014-04-08. dmy-all . dead .
  8. Web site: مرکزتحقیقات استراتژیک- گزارش راهبردی - ترکیه: دیپلماسی مدرن و خلافت نوین عثمانی . 2014-04-08. dmy-all . https://web.archive.org/web/20140408215022/http://www.csr.ir/departments.aspx?lng=fa&abtid=06&&depid=44&&semid=1981 . 2014-04-08 . dead .
  9. Web site: مرکز تحقیقات استراتژیک - مقالات - چالشهای نوین سیاست خارجی ایران در رابطه با آمریکا . 2014-04-08. dmy-all . https://web.archive.org/web/20140408225755/http://www.csr.ir/departments.aspx?lng=fa&abtid=07&&depid=44&&semid=2241 . 2014-04-08 . dead .
  10. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/senator-iran-taps-hostage-taker-ambassador-23150186 US Troubled by Iran's Choice of Its UN Ambassador
  11. http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/04/irans-reformers-include-more-than-one-former-hostage-taker/?_php=true&_type=blogs&module=BlogPost-ReadMore&version=Blog%20Main&action=Click&contentCollection=General&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body&_r=0 Claims re Aboutalebi during Iran hostage crisis
  12. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-26942899 "US Senate bill would bar Iranian envoy Hamid Aboutalebi"
  13. http://www.ibtimes.com/iran-names-hamid-aboutalebi-linked-1979-Tehran-us-embassy-takeover-un-ambassador-1564847 "Iran named Hamid Aboutalebi, Linked To 1979 Tehran US Embassy Takeover, As UN Ambassador"
  14. https://thehill.com/blogs/global-affairs/middle-east-north-africa/202442-graham-rips-iran-pick-as-un-ambassador/ Iran's United Nations pick 'a slap in the face', says Sen. Graham
  15. http://www.cleveland.com/nation/index.ssf/2014/04/ted_cruz_says_proposed_iranian.html Ted Cruz says proposed Iranian ambassador to U.N. was hostage-taker in 1979
  16. Web site: S. 2195 - Summary. United States Congress. 11 April 2014.
  17. News: Marcos. Cristina. Congress approves bill banning Iran diplomat. 11 April 2014. The Hill. 10 April 2014.
  18. News: Sink. Justin. Obama's nuclear dilemma. 11 April 2014. The Hill. 9 April 2014.
  19. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/12/world/middleeast/white-house-says-no-visa-for-irans-un-envoy.html?ref=middleeast Iranian diplomat Hamid Aboutalebi denied visa
  20. News: حمید ابوطالبی از سمت مشاور رئیس‌جمهور استعفا داد. رادیو فردا. فردا. رادیو.
  21. 1276478099421569025. DrAboutalebi. اندر دفاع از"اصلِ مذاکره"تصویرموجوددرساحتِ سیاسی درمورد "اصل مذاکره"درسیاست خارجی،بر سه محوراستواراست:*عدم اعتق… . 26 June 2020.