In the swearing-in ceremony held in the parliament on Tuesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian asserted his point of view about the foreign policy that his administration is going to follow.
He said, "Improving and strengthening relations with neighbors is the priority of the foreign policy of his administration."
“My administration wants a strong region, a region where all neighboring countries can take joint steps for the economic development, progress and improvement of the life of the future generations”, he noted.
"Those countries that provide the Zionist regime with weapons to kill the innocent children in Gaza Strip cannot preach humanity to others," he said “We want a world in which the oppressed Palestinian people are freed from occupation, oppression, captivity and genocide, and the dreams of no Palestinian child are buried under the rubble of their father's house.”
He added, "Iran will respect the value of the friendly countries in the difficult times."
Pezeshkian said, “We call on the Western countries to understand the realities and establish relations with Iran based on mutual respect, and we are ready to talk to the governments that have not yet understood Iran's dignity and status in order to manage and ease the tension."
“I consider the normalization of Iran's economic and commercial relations with the world as the country’s inalienable right, and I will make my utmost effort for the removal of anti-Iranian sanctions,” he stressed.
President Pezeshkian reemphasized that his administration is ready to continue negotiations with the world's major powers in order to remove the anti-Iran sanctions, reminding the West and Washington that Iran's nuclear program is peaceful as it has been verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Following the ceremony we reached out to Dr. Luciano Zaccara, a research associate professor at Qatar University.
Referring to President Pezeshkian's approach towards foreign policy, Zaccara said, " In his inaugural speech in front of the Majlis, Pezeshkian tried to portray, on one hand, a strong stand on the Palestine issue as a regional problem to be solved within the region, and on the other hand, a clear position on the continuation of the dialogue with the west in order to achieve the sanctions against Iran lifted."
Zaccara further noted, "Regional cooperation and constructive dialogue seem to be the priority foreign policy strategies that Pezeshkian wants to use during his term."
Interview by Payman Yazdani