Former FM Kamal Kharrazi martyred in US-Israeli attack
President touts Kharrazi as ‘committed, influential figure’
Head of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations and former Iranian foreign minister Kamal Kharrazi succumbed to his injuries sustained in a US-Israeli attack earlier this week.
Kharrazi, who had been wounded in an attack that targeted his home in Tehran, attained martyrdom on Thursday night. His wife was martyred in the same attack on April 1.
Kharrazi held numerous high-profile positions throughout his distinguished career of public service, spanning decades since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
He headed the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations and served as a senior advisor to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution.
Established in June 2006, the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations is a prominent Iranian think tank and advisory body that reports directly to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution.
Kharrazi also served as the foreign minister from 1997 to 2005 and as a member of the Expediency Discernment Council.
Following his martyrdom, many Iranian officials issued condolences massages.
President Masoud Pezeshkian described him as a prominent, committed, and influential figure in the country's diplomatic arena, who spent many years of his noble life in critical positions such as the foreign minister and the country’s ambassador Iran to the United Nations. He carried out these responsibilities with sincerity, wisdom, and a deep commitment to the ideals of the Islamic Revolution, in the path of defending national interests.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condoled the martyrdom of Kharrazi, describing him as an “educated scientist, prominent diplomat, and an indelible face in the field of foreign policy.”
“The absence of such a personality is not just the loss of a person, but the reticence of part of the reason, experience and sound of Iran’s diplomacy in the international arena,” he added.
Araghchi also said Kharrazi spent his life on the difficult and challenging path of foreign policy, while demonstrating honesty, patience, prudence and honor.
During his tenure in the Foreign Ministry and the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, Kharrazi represented rationality, contemplation, and adherence to national interests, he noted.
Kharrazi’s “name is intertwined with the dignity of Iran’s diplomacy, firm logic vis-à-vis the world, and solemn defense of the nation’s independence,” Araghchi said.