Hadi Khosroshahi
Seyyed Hadi Khosroshahi (Persian: سید هادی خسروشاهی; c. 1939 – 27 February 2020) was an Iranian cleric and diplomat who served as the first Iranian Ambassador to the Vatican.
Hadi Khosroshahi | |
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Hadi Khosroshahi in 2005 | |
Iranian Ambassador to the Holy See | |
In office 1981–1986 | |
Appointed by | Ayatollah Khomeini |
Personal details | |
Born | c. 1939 Tabriz, Imperial State of Iran |
Died | 27 February 2020 80–81) Tehran, Iran | (aged
Cause of death | COVID-19 |
Nationality | Iranian |
Relatives | Mohammad Sadeq Rouhani (father-in-law) |
Career
When he was 15 years old, Khosroshahi joined the leader of militant Fada'iyan-e Islam (Devotees of Islam), Sayyid Mojtaba Mir-Lohi, nicknamed Navvab Safavi. He was close to Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood. Based on his interviews, in at least two cases, he sought Khomeini's approval for the assassination of the Islamic Republic's first President, Abolhassan Bani Sadr and Iran's last Queen Farah Pahlavi, both living in exile in Paris. Khomeini rejected the idea, Khosroshahi maintained.[1]
Khosroshahi was a prominent figure in the Qom Seminary and was a representative of Ayatollah Khomeini in the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance after the victory of the Iranian Revolution in 1979. After two years, he became the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic to the Vatican. He was the first Shi'a clergy serving and representing the Islamic Republic at the Vatican.[2] While in the Vatican, he founded the Europe's Islamic Culture Center, a base for propagating Shi'ism in the West. After serving in the Vatican, Khosroshahi was sent to Cairo, where he represented Tehran for two years at the Islamic Republic's Interest Section.[3]
Death
Khosroshahi died from coronavirus disease 2019 on 27 February 2020.[4]
References
- "First Prominent Cleric In Iran Dies Of Coronavirus". Radio Farda. 28 February 2020.
- "Iran's former envoy to Vatican Hadi Khosroshahi dies of coronavirus". Al Arabiya English. 28 February 2020.
- "Murió por coronavirus Seyyed Hadi Khosroshahi, ex embajador de Irán en el Vaticano". Infobae (in Spanish). 27 February 2020.
- "Iran's ex-ambassador to Vatican dies of coronavirus". Middle East Monitor. 27 February 2020.