MNA – Foreign Minister Zarif has sought President Rouhani’s consent in appointing Iran’s new ambassador to Syria.

Javad Torkabadi is the new ambassador to serve in Damscus and will have the official consent by Mr. Rouhani. The empty position of the ambassador was hotly debated by the Principlists in the Parliament especially when a critical situation necessitated a more resolute Iranian embassy in Damascus. Mr. Zarif’s appointment tries to address such concerns.

Torkabadi served as Iran’s ambassador to Sudan (2010-14); he has also been Iran’s ambassador to Bahrain and Nigeria, and was for a time Iran’s chargé d'affaires in Kuwait. Back in Foreign Ministry, Torkabadi chaired the First Office of North and West Africa.

Iran’s embassy in Damascus had been run by a chargé d'affaires after Mohammad Reza Raouf Sheibani left the position who had begun service as part of a 5-year mission that ended in October 2016.