Hamid Aboutalebi

Hamid Aboutalebi
Deputy Chief of Staff of the President for Political Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office 7 October 2013
President	Hassan Rouhani
Ambassador of Iran to Australia
In office 2003–2006
President	Mohammad Khatami Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Preceded by	Gholamali Khoshroo
Succeeded by	Mahmoud Movahhedi
Ambassador of Iran to Belgium and the European Union
In office 1995–2000
President	Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani Mohammad Khatami
Preceded by	Mohammad Reza Bakhtiari
Succeeded by	Abolghassem Delfi
Ambassador of Iran to Italy
In office 1988–1992
President	Ali Khamenei Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
Preceded by	Gholamali Heydari Khajepour
Succeeded by	Majid Hedayatzade
Personal details
Born	(1957-06-16) 16 June 1957 Tehran, Iran
Alma mater	University of Tehran Sorbonne Nouvelle University Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

Hamid Aboutalebi (Persian: حمید ابوطالبی‎‎, born 16 June 1957)^[1] is an Iranian diplomat and ambassador. Aboutalebi was previously ambassador of Iran to Australia, the European Union, Belgium, Italy, and as political director general to Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.^[2] He was part of Iran's UN delegation in New York City in the 1990s.^[3]

Professional background

Aboutalebi obtained his Ph.D. in historical sociology from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in 1999, after having completed 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.^[4]

His professional publications include Basic Challenges of U.S Foreign Policy towards Iran (2009),^[5] Rocky Mountains of Nuclear Extremism (2009),^[6] Turkey: Modern Diplomacy and New Ottoman Caliphate (2009),^[7] and New Challenges of Iran Foreign Policy towards U.S. (2010).^[8] He published Anthropology of Ethics; First Volume of Philosophy of Social Ethics in 2013.^[4]

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.^[9][10]

Aboutalebi denied participation in the takeover of the US embassy, emphasising that he was brought in to translate and negotiate following the occupation.^[11][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.^[12] 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.^[11]

Due to the claims, Aboutalebi's appointment as ambassador to the UN has been opposed by numerous U.S. lawmakers and diplomats, some of whom have asked the US Department of State to deny his application for a visa.^[13][14]

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 found 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.^[15] The bill was a reaction to Aboutalebi's selection as Iran's ambassador.^[16] The bill passed the Senate on 7 April, and the United States House of Representatives on 10 April. President Barack Obama signed the bill 18 April 2014.^[17]

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] Aboutalebi was denied the visa on 12 April 2014.^[19]

References