Ahmad Sobhani

Ahmad Sobhani (Persian: احمد سبحانی, born 1961 in Tehran) is a retired Iranian diplomat who previously served as Iran's ambassador to Venezuela (2001–06) and Gabon (1995–98), in addition to chargé d'affaires in Armenia (1992–94). He also served as the deputy foreign minister for European and American Affairs under Manouchehr Mottaki (2007–10).

Career

During the Iran–Iraq War, Sobhani was a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. In 1987, he entered Iran's diplomatic service.[1]

Between July 1992 and September 1994, Sobhani served as Iran's chargé d'affaires in Armenia.[2] He later served as Iran's ambassador to Gabon between March 1995 and July 1998.[3] During this same period he was also the accredited ambassador to Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe and the Central African Republic.[4]

In 1999 he returned to Iran where he served as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' director for citizenship and refugees affairs until 2001.[5] Between October 2001 and September 2006, Sobhani served as Iran's ambassador to Venezuela, during which the two countries expanded their political, military and economic ties significantly. At that time he also served as the accredited ambassador to Guyana, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago.[6]

Between 2007 and 2010, Sobhani served as deputy foreign minister for European and American affairs, replacing Saeed Jalili.[7] Later, between 2010 and 2013, he served as the director general for West Asia affairs.[8] He has since retired from diplomatic service.

Sobhani has publicly said that diplomats must be "wealth generators" for their countries.[9] Following his retirement he has served as a member of the leadership council of Alend Investment and Development Economic Cooperation Co., a company whose aim is to increase trade between Iran and Latin American countries.[10]

Personal life

Sobhani's father was assassinated by the People's Mujahedin of Iran in 1982.[11] His brother Hassan Sobhani was killed in battle in 1984 during the Iran-Iraq War.[12]

Sobhani's son Mohammad Javad "Sasha" Sobhani, born in 1988, has attracted international media attention as a result of his social media presence, which includes pictures of him living an extravagant and non-Islamic lifestyle in Europe.[13][14][15] Sasha Sobhani's Instagram page currently has 2.1 million followers (as at April 2020).[16] In August 2018, Ahmad Sobhani told Iranian media that he had severed ties with Sasha. He said of their relationship: "He is my son, but in terms of lifestyle and beliefs, he differs from me, and all of my attempts to direct him to the right path failed."[17]

Sobhani's siblings, Hossein and Zahra Sobhani, are the owners of Avin Darou Co., an Iranian pharmaceutical import company founded in 2008.[18] The company has been criticised for being one of the largest recipients of foreign exchange from the Central Bank of Iran at the subsidized official exchange rate.[19][20]

Honours

References
  1. "چاوز گفت: "مورالس" برادر ماست به او کمک کن/ "اوو مورالس" از ایده رژه تراکتور استقبال کرد + فیلم مستند "احمد سبحانی" سفیر ایران در ونزوئلا (۸۵-۱۳۸۰)". Navid Sobh. 16 November 2019.
  2. Directory of Iranian Officials, Volumes 7-22. 13 June 1991.
  3. "Gabon FM Lauds OIC's Eighth Summit in Tehran". Tehran Times. 24 January 1998.
  4. Directory of Iranian Officials: A Reference Aid, Volumes 7-22. The Agency. 1998.
  5. "Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme" (PDF). United Nations. 8 October 1999.
  6. Stephen Johnson (March 2012). "Iran's Influence in the Americas" (PDF). Center for Strategic and International Studies.
  7. "سبحانی معاون اروپا آمریکای وزارت امور خارجه شد". Fararu.com. 23 October 2007.
  8. "Tehran names 14 new ambassadors". Tehran Times. 8 March 2010.
  9. "دیپلمات باید تولیدکننده ثروت برای کشورش باشد". Iranian Diplomacy. 9 August 2017.
  10. "شرکت سرمایه گذاری و توسعه همکاری‌های اقتصادی الند". Dr. Mohammad Hassan Ghadiri Abyaneh's personal website. 15 July 2015.
  11. "MKO claims responsibility for the assassination of shopkeeper". Habilian Association. 3 March 2016.
  12. "FORMER IRANIAN AMBASSADOR TO GABON:-My Brother Missing Since Four Weeks Ago". Tehran Times. 13 December 1998.
  13. Erin Cunningham (14 January 2019). "Crazy-rich Iranians face blowback at a time of sanctions and economic stress". The Washington Post.
  14. "Die Kinder der Revolution leben im Luxus". Der Spiegel. 11 February 2019.
  15. "Instagram posts by kids of Iran's political elite stir outrage". France 24. 19 September 2018.
  16. "Sasha Sobhani". Instagram. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  17. "Yachts, fast cars and Instagram: Iran's rich kids enrage sanctions-hit citizens". Middle East Eye. 12 December 2018.
  18. "اوین دارو". rasm.io. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  19. "با ۲۰ شرکتی که یک میلیارد یورو ارز دولتی در آن‌ها گم شده است، بیشتر آشنا شوید!". Tabnak. 29 July 2019.
  20. "ردپای «مافیای دارو» در فهرست دلار بگیران دولت ایران". Iran Open Data. 2019.
  21. "Canciller dice relación es ejemplo de diálogo civilizaciones". nacion.com. 6 September 2006.
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Bahram Ghasemi		 Chargé d'affaires of Iran in Armenia
1992–1994		 Succeeded by
Hamidreza Nikkar-Esfahani
Preceded by
Hoshmand Sijani		 Ambassador of Iran to Gabon
1995–1998		 Succeeded by
Hossein Abdi Abyaneh
Preceded by
Mohammad Keshavarzzadeh		 Ambassador of Iran to Venezuela
2001–2006		 Succeeded by
Abdollah Zifan
Preceded by
Saeed Jalili		 Deputy Foreign Minister for European and American Affairs
2007–2010		 Succeeded by
Ali Ahani
Preceded by
Mohammad Ali Ghanezadeh		 Director General for West Asia Affairs
2010–2013		 Succeeded by
Seyed Rasoul Eslami
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