Masoumeh Abad, the Ambassador of Ranti Raisi in Finland

Masoumeh Abad, the ambassador of Ranti Raisi in Finland

Masoumeh Abad, the ambassador of Ranti Raisi in Finland, has been appointed as the new ambassador of Iran in Finland, which has led to widespread reactions from critics of the Raisi government and even opponents. Abad’s controversial track record is so dark and murky that few believed she could return to the political arena, let alone serve as Iran’s ambassador in Scandinavia.

Under these circumstances, Masoumeh Abad becomes the fifth female ambassador after the revolution to be sent to the embassy of the Islamic Republic in Finland. Her appointment has sparked many controversies, including allegations of forging documents related to her involvement in the eight-year war with Iraq and other issues. But who is Masoumeh Abad and why is the Raisi government sending her as an ambassador to Scandinavia?

Who is Masoumeh Abad?

Masoumeh Abad, whose only presence in the political world is related to her membership in two terms of the Tehran City Council, is actually a midwife. Before joining the Tehran City Council, she was in charge of the Women and Maternity Department at Najmieh Hospital in Tehran. Nowadays, she faces many criticisms. Abad was born in 1341 in Abadan and spent her adolescence during the revolution.

As a midwife, she studied embryology at one of the medical universities in England for a while. However, after a period of time, she was expelled from the university due to her inability to study and learn the subjects. She returned to Iran as a result.

Mrs. Abad also has a history of involvement in the front. As mentioned before, Masoumeh Abad was born in Abadan, so at the beginning of the war, she worked as a relief worker in Khuzestan. It is said that she was captured by Iraqi forces at the beginning of the war along with three other women and spent some time in the prisons of the Iraqi Ba’ath regime.

After the end of the war, she joined the healthcare sector and worked in various positions in hospitals across the country, starting in the province of Khuzestan and then moving to Tehran. One of the most important positions she held was the head of the Obstetrics and Gynecology department at Najmieh Hospital in Tehran, which is considered one of the leading healthcare centers in the field of women’s health and obstetrics. It is worth noting that according to regulations, the heads of hospital departments are required to have at least a general medical degree. However, as mentioned before, Masoumeh Abad not only lacks a medical degree but also raises doubts and suspicions regarding her obtaining a midwifery license.

As previously mentioned, Masoumeh Abad holds a midwifery license and is by no means considered a medical doctor. However, many conservative media outlets refer to her as a specialist in women’s health and obstetrics. The reality is that she has managed to enter the field of healthcare management through nepotism and even forging documents.

Economic diplomacy with a midwifery license.

In response to her appointment as an ambassador to Finland, she stated that the reason for this appointment was that when foreign guests visited Iran, I was invited as a guest. Therefore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs contacted me and offered me more collaboration opportunities.

This appointment is made under the circumstances where Ebrahim Raisi had come to work with the slogan of strengthening economic diplomacy, therefore it was said that the composition of the ambassadors of the Islamic Republic will change in line with the policy of strengthening economic diplomacy. However, it is not clear what relevance Masoumeh Abad’s appointment as the ambassador of the Islamic Republic in Helsinki, especially with a nursing degree, has to economic diplomacy.

Friendship with Ghalibaf’s spouse

As mentioned before, Masoumeh Abad’s captivity in the prisons of the Ba’ath regime in Iraq allowed her to enter Shahid Beheshti University with a martyrdom quota. But what led her to enter the world of politics was her close friendship with Zahra Sadat Moshir, the spouse of Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. This close friendship provided the opportunity for Mrs. Abad to be included in the list of candidates for the fourth term of the Tehran City Council elections, with the help of favors.

From Nadjomi properties to fake memoirs

After the Nadjomi properties case was publicly announced during Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf’s tenure as the mayor of Tehran, the names of many members of the Tehran City Council were seen in this case. Masoumeh Abad’s name was also on this list, and it was said that she was also among the recipients of Nadjomi properties from the Tehran Municipality.

Immediately, Abbas rejected this matter and referred to it as a media conspiracy by reformists. However, after a short period of time, journalist Yashar Soltani, who covers the field of transportation, construction, and urban management, published documents that revealed the acquisition of astronomical properties by Masoumeh Abad. According to these documents, Ms. Abad received a property on Moghaddas Ardebili Street from the Tehran Municipality. Although Masoumeh Abad claimed that these documents were forged, it later became evident that she had close ties to the Ghalibaf family. Many other cases of her misuse of her membership in the Tehran City Council were also reported in the media.

According to the statements of Iraj Mosaddegh, a political analyst on the Mihan TV network, Masoumeh Abad has made numerous exaggerations in a book she wrote about her captivity period. In this book, which received a lot of support and promotion from conservative media outlets, Ms. Abad presents herself as a hero to the readers. However, Iranian prisoners who were in Iraqi prisons at the same time as her have rejected Masoumeh Abad’s claims and refer to her book as a collection of fabrications.

Iran’s new Ambassador to Finland is a university lecturer and midwife. She has hardly any work experience in the field of diplomacy, says a researcher.

Appointment of the first female ambassador in the Raisi government.