A son of Mohammad Esmail, Mirza Mohammad-Ali Khan Shirazi was born in c. 1780 in the city of Shiraz in the Fars province of southwestern Iran.

[1] He also had other smaller objectives; to discuss the livelihood and educational circumstances of five Iranian students who were sent to France in 1845 by Aqasi to pursue their studies under Alix Desgranges's tutelage; and make Eugene de Sartiges—who had been dispatched to Iran without an official title—gain permission to represent the French government as an envoy extraordinary in Tehran.

Aqasi dispatched the confirmed treaty to Mohammad-Ali Khan, giving him permission to make the exchange in response to pressure from the mediating British and Russian diplomats in Tehran.

However, Mohammad-Ali Khan gave Aqasi thorough updates on his discussions with mediating British and Russian delegates in Constantinople and told him that if he had not signed the note, the Ottomans might have dropped the treaty.

The diplomats were also told by Mohammad-Ali Khan that his approval of the note was "a short-term measure to prevent the failure of negotiations" and that the Iranian government's consent was the only reason it was acknowledged.

This also continued between Iran and Iraq, who both differently interpreted the article's reference to Iranian vessels having "free navigation rights", an issue that reached its zenith in 1920s and 1930s, and would infrequently occur afterwards.

[3] During the reign of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar (r. 1848–1896), Mohammad-Ali Khan continued to serve as the deputy of the Foreign Ministry, which was controlled by the premier Amir Kabir.

[1] On 29 December 1851, Amir Kabir chose Mohammad-Ali Khan to be the first head of the new Dar ul-Funun college in Tehran, whose foundation marked the start of modern education in the country.

[1][4] The name of Dar-ul Funun is first attested in that letter, which also says that Mirza-Mohammad Ali had, with the approval of Naser al-Din Shah, sent thirty aristocratic and princely children to the newly established college.