Former Iranian minister praises Trump assassination fatwa as daughter lives in New York

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While former Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki praised in a Persian-language television interview the issuance of a fatwa calling for the killing of U.S. President Donald Trump, his daughter is living in New York City with her husband, an Iranian diplomat serving at the permanent mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations, Fox News digital confirmed.

Mottaki, who served as Iran’s foreign minister from 2005 to 2010 under then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and remains a prominent figure in Iran’s political establishment, said Iran’s Supreme Leader had determined that Trump was a criminal and suggested Iran’s judiciary should act, according to a video reviewed by Fox News Digital.

He also described as a “brave and significant act” a religious ruling calling for the killing of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Iran's Former Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki

Mottaki’s daughter, Zahra Assadi Nazari, is married to Nasser Assadi Nazari, who is listed as a third counselor at Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York.

The situation echoes previous controversies involving relatives of senior Iranian officials living in the United States.

In January, Emory University dismissed Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, the daughter of Iranian official Ali Larijani, from a teaching position after protests over her employment at the university’s medical school.

On Sunday, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Saeid Iravani, sparred with U.S. envoy Mike Waltz during a Security Council session, telling the American ambassador to “be polite,” a remark that drew a sharp rebuke.

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Former Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki

“I have one word only: I advise the representative of the United States to be polite,” Iravani said during the meeting.

Moments later, Waltz responded: “Frankly, I’m not going to dignify this with another response, especially as this representative sits here in this body representing a regime that has killed tens of thousands of its own people and imprisoned many more simply for wanting freedom from your tyranny.”

Fox News Digital contacted Iran’s mission to the United Nations asking whether it could confirm the relationship. The mission declined to comment.

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Iran's Ambassador to the United Nations, Amir-Saeid Iravani attends a United Nations Security Council meeting, after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran, at U.N. headquarters in New York City, U.S. Feb. 28, 2026.

Fox News Digital also requested comment from the U.S. Mission to the United Nations regarding Mottaki’s remarks and the broader implications of a former senior Iranian official appearing to endorse violence against the sitting U.S. president while his immediate family resides in New York. No response was received by the time of publication.