Ali Akbar Salehi (born March 24, 1949, in Karbala, Iraq, to Iranian parents from Qom) is an Iranian nuclear physicist, academic, diplomat, and politician. He earned a B.S. in physics from the American University of Beirut (1971) and M.S. (1977) and Ph.D. (1981) in nuclear engineering from MIT. After returning to Iran following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, he became a professor at Sharif University of Technology. His career includes serving as Iran's permanent representative to the IAEA (1998-2003), head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (2009-2010 and 2013-2021), and Minister of Foreign Affairs (2010-2013). He played a key role in the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal negotiations and has been a central figure in Iran's nuclear program, often described as a moderate voice bridging scientific expertise and political diplomacy.