Iran's nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri has been appointed acting foreign minister

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri was appointed interim head of Iranian diplomacy following the death of Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a helicopter accident.
Bagheri has been appointed "head of the government commission for foreign relations", government spokesman Ali Bahadori Jahromi announced, AFP reported.
Considered a close friend of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Bagheri, 56, was appointed deputy foreign minister and chief nuclear negotiator in September 2021.
Since the signing of the agreement in 2015, Bagheri has repeatedly criticized the former moderate government of President Hassan Rouhani for accepting restrictions on the country's nuclear program and allowing "foreigners" access to Iranian sites.
In September 2023, however, he defended the negotiations with the West and criticized "those who, under the guise of defending values, try to make the negotiations appear anti-values".
These individuals "actually want to deprive the Islamic Republic of a key and important tool for guaranteeing national interests," Bagheri was quoted as saying by local media.
Negotiations have been stalled since the United States unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 at the instigation of then-President Donald Trump. /BGNES