Hossein Mousavian
Encyclopedia
Dr. Seyed Hossein Mousavian is an Iranian policymaker and scholar who has served on Iran’s nuclear diplomacy team in negotiations with the EU and International Atomic Energy Agency. He currently resides in the United States, where he is a visiting research scholar at Princeton University
.
, Iran, in 1957, he studied at the Iran University of Science and Technology
, as well as Sacramento City College
and Sacramento State University in the United States. From 1980-1990, Mousavian was Editor-in-Chief of the daily newspaper Tehran Times
, during which time he authored more than 2,000 articles. He also held a number of positions in the Iranian government in the 1980s, including a stint as Vice President of the Islamic Propagation Organization (1981-1983), worked with future-President Hashemi Rafsanjani as Chairman of the Parliament Administration Organization (1983-1986), and was Head and then Director General of the West Europe department of the Foreign Ministry (1986-1989). Mousavian was Iran’s Ambassador to Germany from 1990-1997. Subsequently, he headed the Foreign Relations Committee of the Supreme National Security Council
(SNSC) of Iran during the eight years of Mohammad Khatami
’s presidency. Mousavian meanwhile continued his education in the late 1990s, receiving a Masters degree from the University of Tehran
in 1998 and a PhD from the University of Kent
in the UK in international relations in 2002.
He later served as Foreign Policy Advisor to Ali Larijani
, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (2005-7), and Vice President of the Center for Strategic Research and in a variety of capacities for the Expediency Discernment Council
’s Center for Strategic Research (CSR) from 2005-2008. During this period he was Editor-in-Chief or a member of the Editorial Board for numerous CSR publications, including the Journal of Human Rights Studies, Journal of International Security and Terrorism, Rahbord (Strategy) Magazine, and Journal of Disarmament.
Mousavian has since 2009 been a visiting research scholar at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
.
From 2003-2005, Mousavian was Spokesman of the Iranian nuclear negotiation team, which in 2003 agreed for Iran to provisionally suspend uranium enrichment and allow inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency
at its nuclear sites as confidence building measures. Mousavian’s negotiating team was replaced shortly before the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as President in 2005, in tandem with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei
's announcement that Iran would resume enrichment activities.
, of whom Mousavian was considered an ally. After a year, a spokesman of Iran's judiciary announced that Mousavian had been cleared of the espionage charge after investigation by three different judges. However, the third of those judges had sentenced him to a suspended term of two years in prison and to a five-year ban from holding official diplomatic posts because of his confessed opposition to the foreign and nuclear policy of President Ahmadinejad. Accusations were renewed on August 22, 2010, when the Ministry of Intelligence issued a statement repeating the old claims publicly announced by Ahmadinejad in 2007. Mousavian’s lawyer has questioned this development, arguing that the Ministry of Intelligence statement ran contrary to the verdict reached three years earlier by the Iranian judiciary.
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
.
Biography
Born in KashanKashan
Kashan is a city in and the capital of Kashan County, in the province of Isfahan, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 248,789, in 67,464 families....
, Iran, in 1957, he studied at the Iran University of Science and Technology
Iran University of Science and Technology
The Iran University of Science and Technology is a research institution and university of engineering and science in Iran, offering both undergraduate and postgraduate studies...
, as well as Sacramento City College
Sacramento City College
Sacramento City College is a two-year community college located in Sacramento, California. SCC is part of the Los Rios Community College District and had an enrollment of 25,307 in 2009. Sacramento City College is officially accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges , offering...
and Sacramento State University in the United States. From 1980-1990, Mousavian was Editor-in-Chief of the daily newspaper Tehran Times
Tehran Times
Tehran Times began its work in 1979 as a foreign language newspaper to air the voice of the Islamic Revolution. The policy that the newspaper has been following has been based on the guideline set by the revered martyr Ayatollah Mohammad Hossein Beheshti who said: Tehran Times is not state-owned...
, during which time he authored more than 2,000 articles. He also held a number of positions in the Iranian government in the 1980s, including a stint as Vice President of the Islamic Propagation Organization (1981-1983), worked with future-President Hashemi Rafsanjani as Chairman of the Parliament Administration Organization (1983-1986), and was Head and then Director General of the West Europe department of the Foreign Ministry (1986-1989). Mousavian was Iran’s Ambassador to Germany from 1990-1997. Subsequently, he headed the Foreign Relations Committee of the Supreme National Security Council
Supreme National Security Council
Supreme National Security Council is the national security council of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the current secretary of which is Saeed Jalili. This institution was founded during the 1989 revision of the constitution...
(SNSC) of Iran during the eight years of Mohammad Khatami
Mohammad Khatami
Sayyid Mohammad Khātamī is an Iranian scholar, philosopher, Shiite theologian and Reformist politician. He served as the fifth President of Iran from August 2, 1997 to August 3, 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture in both the 1980s and 1990s...
’s presidency. Mousavian meanwhile continued his education in the late 1990s, receiving a Masters degree from the University of Tehran
University of Tehran
The University of Tehran , also known as Tehran University and UT, is Iran's oldest university. Located in Tehran, the university is among the most prestigious in the country, and is consistently selected as the first choice of many applicants in the annual nationwide entrance exam for top Iranian...
in 1998 and a PhD from the University of Kent
University of Kent
The University of Kent, previously the University of Kent at Canterbury, is a public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom...
in the UK in international relations in 2002.
He later served as Foreign Policy Advisor to Ali Larijani
Ali Larijani
Ali Ardashir Larijani is an Iranian philosopher, politician and the chairman of the Iranian parliament. Larijani was the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council from August 15, 2005 to October 20, 2007, appointed to the position by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,replacing Hassan Rowhani...
, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (2005-7), and Vice President of the Center for Strategic Research and in a variety of capacities for the Expediency Discernment Council
Expediency Discernment Council
The Expediency Discernment Council of the System is an administrative assembly appointed by the Supreme Leader and was created upon the revision to the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran on 6 February 1988...
’s Center for Strategic Research (CSR) from 2005-2008. During this period he was Editor-in-Chief or a member of the Editorial Board for numerous CSR publications, including the Journal of Human Rights Studies, Journal of International Security and Terrorism, Rahbord (Strategy) Magazine, and Journal of Disarmament.
Mousavian has since 2009 been a visiting research scholar at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs is a professional public policy school at Princeton University. The school has granted undergraduate A.B. degrees since 1930 and graduate degrees since 1948...
.
Role in Iranian Diplomacy
Mousavian played a role in a number of key developments during his more than two decades working on Iranian foreign affairs. He helped to secure the release of two German hostages held by Hezbollah in Lebanon from 1990-1993 and American and other Western hostages held in Lebanon in 1998-1999, as well as contributing to the mediation of the largest-ever humanitarian exchange between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah under Germany’s auspices (1995-1996). Mousavian also played a role in Iran’s cooperation with the US in Afghanistan against Al Qaeda and the Taliban in 2001.From 2003-2005, Mousavian was Spokesman of the Iranian nuclear negotiation team, which in 2003 agreed for Iran to provisionally suspend uranium enrichment and allow inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency
International Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957...
at its nuclear sites as confidence building measures. Mousavian’s negotiating team was replaced shortly before the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as President in 2005, in tandem with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei
Ali Khamenei
Ayatollah Seyed Ali Hoseyni Khāmene’i is the Supreme Leader of Iran and the figurative head of the Muslim conservative establishment in Iran and Twelver Shi'a marja...
's announcement that Iran would resume enrichment activities.
Accusations of Espionage
Mousavian was arrested and briefly jailed by the Ahmadinejad administration in 2007 and publicly accused by the president of espionage for allegedly providing classified information to Europeans, including the British Embassy, before being cleared by the judiciary. There was speculation that his arrest was part of a factional struggle between Ahmadinejad and a triumvirate of his opponents: Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mohammad Khatami, and Hassan RowhaniHassan Rowhani
Hassan Rowhani is an Iranian politician and cleric, and as of March 2007, a member of the Supreme National Security Council. Rowhani's membership in the council is as one of the two representatives of the Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran...
, of whom Mousavian was considered an ally. After a year, a spokesman of Iran's judiciary announced that Mousavian had been cleared of the espionage charge after investigation by three different judges. However, the third of those judges had sentenced him to a suspended term of two years in prison and to a five-year ban from holding official diplomatic posts because of his confessed opposition to the foreign and nuclear policy of President Ahmadinejad. Accusations were renewed on August 22, 2010, when the Ministry of Intelligence issued a statement repeating the old claims publicly announced by Ahmadinejad in 2007. Mousavian’s lawyer has questioned this development, arguing that the Ministry of Intelligence statement ran contrary to the verdict reached three years earlier by the Iranian judiciary.