Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi tapped Vahid Jalalzadeh as his deputy for Consular, Parliamentary, and Iranian Expatriates affairs, Iranian state media reported on Wednesday.
The appointment, on its surface, does not seem to fit well with Jalalzadeh’s previous record as the head of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee and some of his other roles. However, bringing him into the ministry may be a way to elevate his status, and could have ramifications.
Let’s look at what is known about Jalalzadeh. Iran’s IRNA says that he “served as the governor of West Azerbaijan province from 2009 to 2013 in the Government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the advisor to the head of the office and the director general of international affairs of the president’s office.” In April, after Israel carried out an airstrike in Damascus, Jalalzadeh weighed in, who was then head of Iran’s parliamentary National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said that Iran will respond “at the right time and place.” Ten days later Iran launched more than 300 missiles and drones at Israel. After the Iranian attack, Jalalzadeh said Iran should punish the Kingdom of Jordan for helping intercept the Iranian attack.Jalalzadeh’s past statements
Jalalzadeh has also praised Iran’s IRGC and its aggressive actions in the region. He has supported attacks by the IRGC on the Kurdistan region, for instance, claiming Iran is targeting Israeli “spy bases.” He has also said that Israeli strikes in Syria are part of a way for Israel to widen the conflict in the region. He believes Israel is now stuck in a quagmire of war.
“Vahid Jalalzadeh conveyed to Vyacheslav Volodin a message from the Speaker of the Parliament of Iran, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, with calls for condemning the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people and a request to provide additional support to the ‘oppressed people of Palestine,’ including at the parliamentary level,” an official statement from the Duma regarding the meeting noted. He has also met with Russia’s Special Presidential Representative for the Middle East and Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov during the visit to Moscow.
In 2022 he gave an address to the plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization. A report said that he “stressed the role and place of parliaments in the situation ‘when events unfolding in our region present opportunities and numerous challenges.’” This is part of his outreach to Russia and former Soviet states. In October 2023, he also said, “It is not clear whether the strategic patience of the resistance movements will continue in the coming days with the continued attacks of the Zionist regime,” during a meeting with Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Palestinian Hamas movement’s Political Bureau.Jalalzadeh has also visited Syria to back the Assad regime. “In a statement released after his meetings with Syrian officials in Damascus, Vahid Jalalzadeh, chairman of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, reiterated Iran’s strong support for Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Chinese media reported on October 10, 2023. “We reject any violation of the Syrian sovereignty and territorial integrity. We also reject the continuation of any occupation of Syrian land by the US and Turkey,” the statement quoted him as saying. While he opposes Ankara’s role in Russia, he has said Iran is not going to replace Russia’s role. Russia and Iran back Assad.
During his time in parliament he also extended an invitation to Amal leader Nabih Berri in Lebanon to Visit Iran. He has also put out statements about Iran reviewing the nuclear deal with the West. Before Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian died in a helicopter crash, he went with Jalalzadeh to Oman to shore up Iranian ties there. Considering Jalalzadeh’s key role in ties with Russia, Syria and other countries in the region, and his belligerent attitude towards Iran’s role, his appointment at the ministry appears important. The role he has been given however seems to clip his wings. It remains to be seen if his new role is a stepping stone to something larger.
