Ayatollah Khamenei appoints new members for Strategic Council for Foreign Relations

Rasa - Ayatollah Khamenei has issued a decree appointing five new members to the Strategic Council for Foreign Relations. This council is headed by Dr Kamal Kharrazi and Ayatollah Khamenei has written a letter to him introducing the new appointees.

News ID: 915

Date: 17 June 2014 - 17:31

Rasa News Agency reports - The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, issued a decree appointing five new members to the Strategic Council for Foreign Relations.

All of the new members have previous experience in various fields; Sa’id Jalili was Iran’s former secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and Iran’s nuclear negotiator; Ebrahim Sheibani, was the former ambassador to Austria, Slovenia and Slovakia; Ahmad Vahidi was the former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the minister of defence from 2009 to 2013; Hosein Taremi was the former ambassador to China and Saudi Arabia; and Mahdi Mostafavi-Ahari was the former ambassador to West Germany.

The Strategic Council for Foreign Relations was created by a June 25, 2006 decree by Ayatollah Khamenei. The council is intended to facilitate Iran’s decision-making process, find new foreign policy approaches, and make use of foreign policy experts.

Dr. Kamal Kharrazi, who served as foreign minister from 1997-2005, heads the council. Ali-Akbar Velayati, who preceded Kharrazi as foreign minister and who currently serves as Ayatollah Khamenei’s foreign affairs adviser, and former IRGC admiral Ali Shamkhani, who served as defence minister from 1997-2005 are also members of the council.

The following is Ayatollah Khamenei’s letter to Dr Kharrazi:

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Dear Dr Kharrazi,

In view of the need to form a strategic Council for Foreign Relations, Dr Sa’id Jalili, Dr Ebrahim Sheibani, Hosein Taremi, Mahdi Mostafavi-Ahari, and Brigadier-General Ahmad Vahidi have been appointed as new members of this council.

According to previous experiences and the role of the council to assist the authorities in making important decisions and benefiting from scholars in this field, it is hoped that during this new period, the council’s duties will be effectively accomplished.

Sayyed Ali Khamenei
15 June, 2014

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