Iran’s new envoy to Syria submits credentials to Assad
Hossein Akbari, Iran’s new Ambassador to Syria submitted his credentials to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad as extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Syrian Arab Republic.
The credentials of the Iranian ambassador were accepted in the presence of Foreign and Expatriates Minister, Faisal Mekdad, and Minister of Presidential Affairs Mansour Azzam.
Akbari had previously served as Iran’s envoy to Libya. He replaced Mehdi Sobhani as Tehran’s envoy to Damascus while Sobhani was in his mission. Sobhani was Iran’s ambassador to Syria for two years.
Envoys usually serve at least three years in a country. Sobhani’s mission in Syria was terminated, as he is scheduled to be assigned to Armenia soon.
As Sobhani is a veteran diplomat, his assignment to Armenia has sparked various debates among Iranian political analysts, as they said it indicates a shift of strategy in Iran’s approach towards the conflicts in South Caucasus.
Sobhani will replace Abbas Badakhshan as Iran’s new envoy to Armenia.
He had received a medal of merit from Bashar Assad for his efforts to bring Iran and Syria’s views closer.