{{Short description|Iranian politician and diplomat (born 1953)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Manouchehr Mottaki | native_name = {{No bold|منوچهر متکی}} | native_name_lang = fa | image = Manouchehr Mottaki 13940825 0631416.jpg | caption = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1953|05|12|df=y}} | birth_place = Bandar Gaz, Iran | office = Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran | term_start = 24 August 2005 | term_end = 13 December 2010 | president = Mahmoud Ahmadinejad | predecessor = Kamal Kharazi | successor = Ali Akbar Salehi | office1 = Ambassador of Iran to Japan | term_start1 = 1995 | term_end1 = 1999 | president1 = Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani{{Clear}}Mohammad Khatami | predecessor1 = Hossein Kazempour Ardebili | successor1 = Ali Majedi | office2 = Ambassador of Iran to Turkey | term_start2 = 1985 | term_end2 = 1989 | president2 = Ali Khamenei | predecessor2 = Mohammad Ganjidost | successor2 = Mohammad Reza Bagheri | office3 = Member of the Parliament of Iran | term_start3 = 27 May 2024 | term_end3 = | constituency3 = Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat, Eslamshahr and Pardis | majority3 = 404,615 (25.77%) | term_start4 = 27 May 2004 | term_end4 = 24 August 2005 | constituency4 = Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat and Eslamshahr | majority4 = 493,214 (25.01%)<ref>[http://www.isna.ir/news/8212-03076/%D8%A2%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D9%86%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%8A%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D9%85%D8%AC%D9%84%D8%B3-%D9%87%D9%81%D8%AA%D9%85-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%AD%D9%88%D8%B2%D9%87-%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A7%D8%B9%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%B4%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D9%85%D8%AC%D9%85%D9%88%D8%B9 آراء نهايي انتخابات مجلس هفتم در حوزه تهران اعلام شد / از مجموعِ ۳٫۴۳۸ صندوق، ۱٫۹۷۱٫۷۴۸ برگ رأی به دست آمد]</ref> | term_start5 = 27 May 1980 | term_end5 = 26 May 1984 | constituency5 = Bandar Gaz | majority5 = 24,928 (70.25%)<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.moi.ir/Portal/File/ShowFile.aspx?ID=e0988c1a-b965-4c82-a74e-7f29379b3d86 |title=Profile |access-date=9 September 2016 |archive-date=4 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160504112726/http://www.moi.ir/portal/File/ShowFile.aspx?ID=e0988c1a-b965-4c82-a74e-7f29379b3d86 |url-status=dead }}</ref> | party = Association of Graduates of Indian Subcontinent<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parstimes.com/politics/legally_registered_parties.html|title=List of Legally Registered Parties in Iran|work=Pars Times|access-date=21 August 2015|number=14759|page=4|date=30 July 2000}}</ref> | other_party = Front of Followers of the Line of the Imam and the Leader<br />Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran <small>(2004)</small> | branch = Revolutionary Committee | service_years = 1979–1980<ref>{{cite news|title=A Brief Biography of Iran's New Ministers|url=http://www.payvand.com/news/09/sep/1068.html|access-date=22 February 2013|work=Payvand|date=7 September 2009|archive-date=10 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710101858/http://www.payvand.com/news/09/sep/1068.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> }} '''Manouchehr Mottaki''' ({{langx|fa|منوچهر متکی}}; born 12 May 1953) is an Iranian politician and diplomat who currently is a member of the Parliament of Iran representing Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat, Eslamshahr and Pardis since 2024. He was the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2005 to 2010.
Whilst technically appointed by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he is considered to be closer to more pragmatic conservative factions and during the 2005 presidential election, he was the campaign manager of Ali Larijani, the conservative candidate.<ref name=lou1sep>{{cite news|last=Glenn |first=Louisa |title=Background brief: Ahmadinejad's cabinet |url=http://www.ndi.org/node/15709 |access-date=1 July 2013 |work=National Democratic Institute |date=1 September 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130708083626/http://www.ndi.org/node/15709 |archive-date=8 July 2013 }}</ref> He was also a presidential candidate in the 2013 presidential election, but withdrew before the polling began. It was rumored that his nomination was rejected by Guardian Council, which he denied.
==Early life and education== Mottaki was born in Bandar-e-gaz County in 1953<ref name=ird2010>{{cite journal|title=Resignation and Rumor; Mottaki in the Last Iranian Year|journal=IRD Diplomacy|date=18 August 2010|url=http://www.irdiplomacy.ir/en/page/1735/Resignation+and+Rumor%3B+Mottaki+in+the+Last+Iranian+Year.html|access-date=21 June 2013}}</ref> and went to school there. After graduation, he joined the army and as national plan joined the public education program by that day which was conducted by the government. He went to Khorasan province and established a school in a poor village around Mashhad and taught there. After his service in the army, since he was interested in social and political issues, he decided to travel abroad both for experience and study. By that time many Iranians travelled to India, which was seen as a popular academic destination. So he traveled there for a few years before the Iranian Revolution.<ref>Mottaki's interview in popular Iranian TV show ''Sandaliye Dagh''</ref>
Mottaki earned a bachelor's degree from Bangalore University in India in 1977.<ref name=ird2010/> He also holds a master's degree in international relations that he received from the University of Tehran.<ref>[http://www.president.ir/farsi/ahmadinejad/cabinet/motaki.htm Mottaki's biography] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060209030150/http://www.president.ir/farsi/ahmadinejad/cabinet/motaki.htm |date=9 February 2006 }} on the official Iranian Presidential [http://www.president.ir/ website]</ref>
==Career== thumb|left|Manouchehr Mottaki, April 2010 After the revolution, Mottaki was elected as the first parliament representative and assigned by other representatives as the head of the national security and foreign policy committee due to his politic and diplomatic talents. During his years in Majlis (Congress) and effective collaboration with the foreign ministry, he was employed by the ministry after parliament. He served as the member of parliament in the first Majlis, head of the 7th political bureau of foreign ministry (1984), Iran's ambassador to Turkey (1985),<ref name=ips15aug>{{cite news|title=Iran's new president presents an "undiscovered island"|url=http://www.iran-press-service.com/ips/articles-2005/august-2005/ahmadinejad_cabinet_15805~email.shtml|access-date=1 July 2013|work=Iran Press Service|date=15 August 2005|location=Paris/Tahran}}{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> ministry's secretary general for Western European affairs (1989), deputy foreign minister for international affairs (1989) and deputy foreign minister for legal, consular and parliamentary affairs (1992). He was also Iran's ambassador to Japan (1994),<ref name=ips15aug/> advisor to foreign minister (1999), deputy head of culture and Islamic communications organization (2001) and head of foreign relations committee of the 7th Majlis national security and foreign policy commission. He then developed within the ministry during 24 years of continuous presence in different positions.<ref>[http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/iran/2005/iran-050814-irna03.htm Biography of Mottaki, nominee for post of foreign minister<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
On 24 August 2005, Mottaki was appointed foreign minister after the Majlis approved him as minister with 220 votes in favor.<ref name=pay25aug>{{cite news|title=Iran: 17 proposed ministers receive votes of confidence, 4 rejected|url=http://www.payvand.com/news/05/aug/1246.html|access-date=1 July 2013|newspaper=Payvand|date=25 August 2005|archive-date=13 December 2014|archive-url=https://archive.today/20141213192358/http://www.payvand.com/news/05/aug/1246.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> He was also appointed foreign minister to the second cabinet of Ahmadinejad in 2009.<ref name=lou1sep/><ref name=wor19aug>{{cite news|last=Worth|first=Robert F.|title=Ahmadinejad Submits a Cabinet of Acolytes|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/20/world/middleeast/20iran.html|access-date=1 July 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=19 August 2009|location=Dubai}}</ref> His term ended on 13 December 2010 when he was dismissed, something that had been widely speculated as a power struggle within the conservative establishment.<ref>{{cite news|title=Thank you and goodbye|url=https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2010/12/16/thank-you-and-goodbye|access-date=21 June 2013|newspaper=The Economist|date=16 December 2010}}</ref> Mottaki said, "Dismissing a minister during a mission is un-Islamic, undiplomatic and offensive."<ref name=ttel19dec>{{cite news|title=Sacked Iran foreign minister criticises 'un-Islamic' dismissal|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/8212863/Sacked-Iran-foreign-minister-criticises-un-Islamic-dismissal.html|access-date=1 July 2013|newspaper=The Telegraph|location=London|date=19 December 2010}}</ref> IRIB reported that Ali Akbar Salehi would replace Mottaki in a caretaker position. Commenting on Mottaki's dismissal, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the U.S. relationship with Iran "is not toward any individual . . . it is toward the country, the government, which is complex and challenging to deal with".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-13/clinton-says-u-s-committed-to-diplomacy-with-iran-update1-.html|title=Clinton Says U.S. Committed to Diplomacy With Iran|newspaper=Bloomberg News|last=Lakshmanan|first=Indira|date=13 December 2010|access-date=13 December 2010}}</ref>
On 27 February 2012, he announced his nomination for the 2013 presidential election. He was supported by Front of Followers of the Line of the Imam and the Leader, which the party later changed its presidential candidate from Mottaki to Mohammad-Hassan Aboutorabi Fard. He registered as a presidential candidate in the first day of nomination in the Ministry of Interior. However, it was reported that Mottaki's nomination will be rejected by Guardian Council. He withdrew from his nomination and suspended his presidential campaign just hours before the council's announcement of final candidates.
===Views=== [[File:Munich Security Conference 2010 - Moe086 PK Mottakki.jpg|thumb|Mottaki in 2010 Munich Security Conference]] thumb|left|Mottaki registering in the election Referring to the controversy over Iran's nuclear program, Mottaki said the referral of the issue to the UN Security Council would be a detrimental move.<ref name=thinkexist>[http://thinkexist.com/quotes/manouchehr_mottaki/ Manouchehr Mottaki quotes<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> He called for negotiations and said Iran does not seek nuclear weapons, and instead wants the same rights as other members of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.<ref name=thinkexist/>
Mottaki condemned the outcry over President Ahmadinejad's comments on Israel, calling them a "misunderstanding."<ref name=thinkexist/> At the same time, he called the Israeli government a "Zionist regime" and said of Israel that Iran was "facing a mad people, which is ruled by madmen."<ref>[http://www.memritv.org/clip_transcript/en/2387.htm Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki: We Are Facing a Mad People Ruled by Madmen], MEMRITV, Clip No. 2387, 8 February 2010.</ref>
In July, 2010, in one report from the International Foreign Ministerial Meeting in Kabul, "American, European and other foreign leaders<ref>[http://english.irib.ir/analysis/commentaries/item/63495-irans-active-role-in-kabul-meetings "Iran's Active Role in Kabul Meetings"], IRIB English Radio, 20 July 2010. "Foreign Ministers of nearly 40 countries along with representatives from 30 other states as well as regional and international organizations, and financial institutions." Retrieved 20 July 2010.</ref> [including] ... Mottaki ... and Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi [and] Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon met ... to pledge anew their support for Afghanistan as they committed to complete transition of security and budgeting responsibility to the Afghan government by 2014. They acknowledged that neither the people of their own countries nor those in Afghanistan had much patience left. ... The Iranian Foreign Minister used the conference as an opportunity to get in some digs at the foreign forces. The criticism came just a few weeks after the United Nations Security Council voted to enforce sanctions against Iran for failing to halt its nuclear program. 'The presence and increase in the number of foreign forces is one of the factors in the insecurity, violence and dissatisfaction of the public,' said ... Mottaki .... A moment later the United Nations special representative to Afghanistan, Staffan de Mistura, interrupted and told him to get to the point."<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/21/world/asia/21afghan.html?hp "Leaders Renew Vows of Support for Afghanistan"], by Alissa J. Rubin, Richard A. Oppel, Jr. and Mark Landler, ''The New York Times'', 20 July 2010. Retrieved 20 July 2010.</ref> Another report from Kabul added "Mottaki accused the U.S., Pakistan and allied forces of utilizing Afghanistan to support terrorist strikes inside Iran, including last week's bomb blasts in ... Zahedan, ... Sistan-Baluchistan province." This report said United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton "hadn't heard [the] comments ... charging the U.S. with supporting terrorism inside Iran"; and said that "Mottaki exceeded his allotted time giving his speech, earning a rebuke from the conference's organizers. The Iranian diplomat said he had the right to give an extended account of the situation in Afghanistan, as Iran has been forced to absorb three million Afghans evading the fighting in their country."<ref>[https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703724104575378541660572292?mod=googlenews_wsj "Iran Accuses U.S, Pakistan of Supporting Terrorism"] by Jay Solomon; Habib Zahori contributed to the article; ''The Wall Street Journal'', 20 July 2010, Retrieved 20 July 2010.</ref> A third report said, in part, that Mottaki said "Increase in terrorism because of the active support of the US and NATO of terrorist groups in the region as part of their policy to sow ethnic and religious discord, is proof of the fact that the undesirable presence of the occupation forces has intensified insecurity and violence. Today, insecurity is not just plaguing the Afghan people but is in fact directly mushrooming in neighbouring states, especially in Pakistan."<ref>[http://english.irib.ir/analysis/commentaries/item/63507-iran-fm-occupation-cause-of-insecurity-in-afghanistan "Commentary: Iran FM: Occupation Cause of Insecurity in Afghanistan"], IRIB English Radio, 20 July 2010 Retrieved 20 July 2010.</ref>
Mottaki defended the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust as a "gathering of truth-seekers". He also claimed that "there has never been such a phenomenon as Antisemitism" in the Muslim world.<ref>{{cite news |title=Iran opens controversial Holocaust conference |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/iran-opens-controversial-holocaust-conference-1.579714 |access-date=9 October 2023 |work=CBC |date=2006-12-11}}</ref>
==Honors== *55px|ribbon bar Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun, 2017<ref>{{cite web|title=2017 Autumun Conferment of Decoration on Foreign Nationals|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/files/000304482.pdf|publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan|access-date=14 November 2017}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}} {{Wikiquote}} {{Wikinews category|Manouchehr Mottaki}} {{Commons category|Manouchehr Mottaki}}
{{s-start}} {{s-off}} {{succession box|before=Kamal Kharazi|title=Minister of Foreign Affairs|years=2005–2010|after=Ali Akbar Salehi}} {{s-end}} {{Ahmadinejad cabinet}} {{Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Iran}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mottaki, Manouchehr}} Category:1953 births Category:Living people Category:Iranian Muslims Category:Iranian Shia Muslims Category:University of Tehran alumni Category:Bangalore University alumni Category:People from Golestan province Category:Ministers of foreign affairs of Iran Category:Ambassadors of Iran to Turkey Category:Ambassadors of Iran to Japan Category:Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran politicians Category:Front of Followers of the Line of the Imam and the Leader politicians Category:Islamic Revolution Committees personnel Category:21st-century Iranian diplomats