TEHRAN   -   The Iranian parliament has approved Seyyed Abbas Araghchi as Iran’s new foreign minister.

Araghchi won 247 out of 288 ballots cast during a vote of confidence to President Masoud Pezeshkian’s proposed cabinet on Wednesday.  Araghchi was secretary of Iran’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations since 2021.

He has served in various roles in Iran’s Foreign Ministry, including deputy for political affairs from 2017 to 2021 under former foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.    The seasoned diplomat was a member of Iran’s negotiating team that worked out the country’s nuclear deal with world powers in 2015.   Araghchi is expected to follow up on President Pezeshkian’s promises to revive the nuclear deal and to repair Iran’s relations with the Western world.