Assistant Foreign Minister Buzeshkian rejects criticisms over his participation in Saudi National Day

Ja’far Qaem Maghami, the deputy foreign minister of Iran under President Masoud Pezeshkian, faced sharp criticism from hardline extremists after he attended the celebration of Saudi National Day on Wednesday evening. The event was held at the Espinas Palace Hotel in Tehran, which serves as the temporary headquarters of the Saudi embassy.

It had originally been planned for the Iranian Minister of Oil to attend the occasion, but it was decided that Qaem Maghami would represent Iran instead. Typically, participation in such events is at the level of the deputy foreign minister or a director-general in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The ceremony, described as the largest of its kind, was also attended by another of Pezeshkian’s deputies, Ali Akbar Salehi, the former foreign minister and former president of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization. Former Minister of Guidance Ali Jannati, the family of the late President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, and a large number of other prominent Iranian political figures were also present.

The attacks focused on Qaem Maghami, who is considered the closest aide to Pezeshkian. Like the president, he is a physician, and the two share a long-standing friendship. Observers linked the criticism against him to the warm reception that Pezeshkian’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly received from several Iranian factions, as well as to his disclosure of an Iranian proposal for negotiations. In response to the criticism, Qaem Maghami stated in an interview with Fars News Agency that his participation in the Saudi celebration was decided by the country’s supreme authorities and was not a personal decision.