Ahmad Sobhani

Ahmad Sobhani (Persian: احمد سبحانی, born 1961 in Tehran) is an Iranian diplomat who previously served as Iran's ambassador to Venezuela, Gabon and Armenia. He also served as a deputy foreign minister under Manouchehr Mottaki.

During the Iran–Iraq War, Sobhani was a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Following the war he entered Iran's diplomatic service.

Between July 1992 and September 1994, Sobhani served as Iran's chargé d'affaires in Armenia. He later served as Iran's ambassador to Gabon between March 1995 and July 1998. During this same period he was also the accredited ambassador to São Tomé and Príncipe, based in Libreville.

In 1999 he returned to Iran where he served as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' director for citizenship and refugees affairs until 2002. Between May 2002 and September 2006, Sobhani served as Iran's ambassador to Venezuela, during which the two countries expanded their political, military and economic ties significantly. At that time he also served as the accredited ambassador to Guyana and the Dominican Republic.

Between 2007 and 2010, Sobhani served as deputy foreign minister for European and American affairs, replacing Saeed Jalili. Later, between 2010 and 2013, he served as the director general for West Asia affairs.

Sobhani's father was assassinated by the People's Mujahedin of Iran in 1982. His brother Hassan Sobhani was killed in battle in 1984 during the Iran-Iraq War.

Sobhani's son Mohammad Javad "Sasha" Sobhani, born in 1988, has attracted international media attention as a result of his social media presence, which includes pictures of him living an extravagant and non-Islamic lifestyle in Europe. Sasha Sobhani's Instagram page currently has 1.3 million followers. In August 2018, Ahmad Sobhani told Iranian media that he had severed ties with Sasha. He said of their relationship: "He is my son, but in terms of lifestyle and beliefs, he differs from me, and all of my attempts to direct him to the right path failed."

Foreign honours