DUBAI, July 10. /TASS/. Former Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is highly likely to become foreign minister in new President Masoud Pezeshkian’s government, the Tasnim news agency said citing sources in the president elect’s circle.

The sources said that Pezeshkian’s political advisors believe that Araghchi is the best candidate for this position. Barring "something unforeseen" happening, the politician will be nominated for consideration in parliament.

The sources told the news agency that Araghchi is already serving as Pezeshkian’s foreign policy advisor. In particular, he consulted the president-elect during the recent phone talks with leaders of Islamic resistance groups and regional heads of state or government.

On July 6, Professor Mahmoud Shouri, a member of the board of directors of the Tehran-based Institute for Iran-Eurasia Studies, told TASS that Araghchi is viewed as the leading candidate for the country’s foreign minister.

From 2017 to 2021, Araghchi was Iran’s deputy foreign minister for political affairs during the second term of reformist President Hassan Rouhani. Araghchi has also served as Iran's top negotiator on the country's nuclear program for quite some time now. He has made many trips to Moscow for meetings with Russian Foreign Ministry officials. During the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, he served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He has built his career as a diplomat, serving as ambassador to Tokyo and Helsinki. Currently, he is secretary of Iran’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations.