 He was part of Iran's UN delegation in New York City in the 1990s.Aboutalebi obtained his Ph.D. in historical sociology from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in 1999, after having completed master's degrees in sociology (from Sorbonne Nouvelle University, Paris) and in the history of Islamic civilization and culture (from Tehran University).Aboutalebi also earned his bachelor's degree in sociology from Tehran University.