Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei stressed the need to be wise in Iran’s foreign policy, saying that whatever is done must be backed by reason and logic and should be thought out and prudent.
The minister and senior officials of Iran’s Foreign Ministry as well as ambassadors and representatives of Iran in other countries met with the Leader in Tehran on Saturday.
In remarks at the meeting, Ayatollah Khamenei emphasized the importance of maintaining honorable relations with neighboring, Islamic, and friendly countries, and delineated the meanings of the three keywords “honor, wisdom, and expediency” in Iran’s foreign policy.
The Leader described the lack of reliance on principles in foreign policy as a violation of honor and the cause of hesitancy, Khamenei.ir reported.
“Honor is the negation of imploring diplomacy, both in words and in content’ and the avoidance of pinning hopes on the words and decisions of foreign officials,” he said.
The Leader explained six mandatory rules in foreign policy, underlining that, “compliance with these indicators is a sign of successful foreign policy, and if these rules are not observed, there will be problems either in the theory of foreign policy or in the functioning and operations of diplomacy.”
The other five principles included: “Having an effective, directive presence in various political-economic phenomena, events and currents in the world,” “Overcoming and reducing threatening policies and decisions against Iran,” “Weakening dangerous centers,” “Strengthening the governments and organizations that are allies with Iran as well as developing the country’s strategic depth,” and “The ability to detect the hidden layers in regional and global decisions and actions.” The Leader also hailed the current Iranian administration’s policy to communicate with neighboring countries, describing it as a correct and important measure.
He added that “foreign hands are actively creating problems between Iran and its neighbors and you should not allow this policy to be realized.
Contrary to the enemy’s desires, you should continue the policy of relations with our neighbors, Islamic countries and countries whose policies are in line with that of the Islamic Republic.”
Ayatollah Khamenei also considered it important to maintain a policy of relations with like-minded and Islamic countries, even if they are located in far regions.
“Today, the cooperation and alignment of some big and important countries of the world with the Islamic Republic of Iran in some processes and fundamental lines of international politics is an unprecedented phenomenon, and we should appreciate this opportunity and strengthen the relations with those countries,” the Leader said.
Pointing to the issue of the ambassadors’ meeting regarding a transformation in the current world order and the frequent repetition of this issue in world literature, the Leader said, “The change in the world order is a long-term process full of ups and downs and affected by possible unforeseen events, and different countries have different and conflicting opinions and approaches to it.”
Ayatollah Khamenei highlighted the importance of foreign policy and its important role in the administration and improvement of the country.
“Despite paying attention to the economic and cultural factors in the analysis of the country’s current state, the foreign policy factor is often neglected in discussions.
At the beginning of this meeting, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian gave a report on the actions, programs and priorities of the current administration’s foreign policy department to create transformations.
The depth of the Supreme Leader’s strategic vision and dealing with efficient foreign policy will be our light.
Stating that today they had the opportunity to meet and receive the deep opinions of the Supreme Leader in the field of foreign policy and international relations, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said: “the depth of Supreme Leader’s strategic view of the global transformation and an efficient foreign policy will be our light”.
This strategic vision can be traced in the active normalization of ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia, as well as, attempts to enhance normalization with Egypt. It is also important to understand and observe if this “light” in the foreign policy would affect the changes and shifts in the diplomatic relations with neighboring countries: Afghanistan – over the water issues, flexible diplomacy with Azerbaijan, and relations with other states on the Arabian peninsula.
