Zarif: Basics Of Iran Foreign Policy, Unchangeable

Tehran, Aug 23, IRNA – IRI Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif said here Thursday night that basics and fundamentals of the country’s foreign policy are not subject to change. Zarif made the comment at the Special News Talk Show of the IRIB Channel 3 in response to a question on President Hassan Rohani’s comment, “Change in foreign policy while preserving the fundamentals.” He said, “The fundamentals of our foreign policy have been defined in the Constitution, the comments of the late Imam (P), the guidance of the Supreme Leader, and the upper-hand documents, and these fundamentals are in fact the foundations tones of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s foreign policy, which are not subject to change. Zarif added, “The most important unchangeable basics and fundamentals include defending the territorial integrity and independence of the country, the people’s freedom, and service aimed at improving the people’s living conditions through the establishment of just relations at the international scene. These are the unchangeable basics.” He referred to the developments in the region and the prevailing international conditions, saying, “The world developments always create the need for every government, and even for a single government in the course of its tenure, to adopt a dialogue that is appropriate with the international developments.” The Iranian top diplomat added, “With a precise understanding about the prevailing conditions in the world and the effects of those international developments in the country, we can have a more powerful presence at the international scene.” Iran’s new President Hassan Rohani called for a foreign policy free of damaging sloganeering as Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif took office. Rohani said the clear message from voters, who gave him a surprise election victory over five conservatives on June 14, was that they wanted a new, more rational foreign policy. “Foreign policy is not carried out by repeating slogans,” Rohani said, in a clear allusion to the fiery rhetoric of his predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. “We have no right to use foreign policy to win plaudits — it’s a very sensitive field and it’s the key to solving our current problems,” he said at a Foreign Ministry handover ceremony. “One of the messages of the voters in the presidential election was that they wanted a change in foreign policy,” he said. “That doesn’t mean abandoning our principles but it does mean a change of method. We are going to strongly defend our interests but that has to be done appropriately, precisely and rationally.” /end