As the world waits to see the direction that Iran will take under Masoud Pezeshkian, who was elected President on July 5 with 54% of the votes, Sputnik reported on an interview they conducted with Pezeshkian on the eve of the election about the main priorities of Iran’s foreign policy.
“Russia is a friend and partner of Iran,” Pezeshkian stated, “and I consider it a priority to deepen and expand relations with Russia and China, as well as intensify foreign policy activities in the Asian direction in general. And we, of course, at all levels—bilateral, regional and international—will continue our efforts to expand interaction with the Russian Federation.”
He added: “One of the priorities of my foreign policy program is regional cooperation, and for this purpose, Iran will expand its presence in BRICS and the SCO, as well as strive for more active cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union [EAEU] to more fully realize the potential of trade and economic relations with the member countries of these organizations.”
Regarding the 2015 nuclear deal, or JCPOA, Pezeshkian pointed out that it is “an international agreement approved by the UN,” and that the U.S.’s unilateral withdrawal in 2018 from this agreement “caused serious damage to Iran and the Iranian people.… As the Russian side has repeatedly emphasized, Iran has fulfilled its obligations, and we see our task as returning the other participants to this agreement as soon as possible and achieving the lifting of sanctions. I am confident that the friendly governments of Russia and China will support Iran and assist it in resolving this issue,” he concluded.
