Ali Akbar Mohtashamipur

Ali Akbar Mohtashamipur was a Shia cleric who accompanied Ruhollah Khomeini during his exile in Iraq and France. After the Iranian Revolution, he served as Iran's ambassador to Syria from 1982 to 1986. In that capacity he played a pivotal role in the creation of Hezbollah, working within the framework of the IRGC Department for Islamic Liberation Movements. He actively supervised the merger of existing radical Shia factions — including Islamic Amal, the Lebanese branch of the Islamic Dawa Party, and other groups — into the unified Hezbollah organization. He later served as Iran's Minister of Interior from 1985 to 1989. In 1984, while serving as ambassador in Damascus, he survived an Israeli assassination attempt via a parcel bomb that severed his hand. He died on 7 June 2021 from COVID-19.