Tehran, IRNA – Mohammad Jamshidi, President Ebrahim Raisi’s deputy for political affairs, has said that the martyred president pursued a good neighborly policy in order to turn Iran into a true power in the West Asia region.

Jamshidi made the remarks in a televised interview with Iran’s IRIB 1 TV channel, noting that President Raisi was the only Iranian chief executive who had his unique ideas for foreign policy, while previous governments usually relied on Western theories.

Therefore, previous administrations in Iran pursued the same approaches that were articulated by Western liberal democracies but failed to create positive interactions based on those ideas, the official said.

President Raisi pursued a rational and revolutionary approach in his foreign policy and believed in the good neighborliness policy and convergence, he added.

Joining international alliances

Jamshidi also argued that Raisi sought to turn Iran into a true power in the West Asia region by creating strategic infrastructures, noting that Iran gives priority to entities such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the BRICS group, and the Eurasian Economic Union.

As a result of President Raisi’s foreign policy, countries such as China, Russia, and Tajikistan emphasized their readiness to change their policy and welcome Iran at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, he stated.

Jamshidi went on to say that the Raisi administration paid visits to 28 states and succeeded in revitalizing the gas export deal with Pakistan during his recent visit to the neighboring country.

Ties with Saudi Arabia, Egypt  

On the resumption of diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia, Jamshidi said that President Raisi personally followed up the issue as he dispatched a delegation to Riyadh where they stayed for a week and briefed him on a daily basis.

He said that the restoration of relations with Egypt was another achievement by Raisi who met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on the sidelines of a regional conference in Riyadh. Egypt’s foreign minister Sameh Shoukry also visited Tehran for the funeral of Raisi and his entourage, Jamshidi added.

Support for Palestinians

The official said that Raisi strongly supported resistance groups in the region and made enormous efforts to help uphold the rights of the Palestinian people.

His efforts were not limited to political speeches and diplomatic meetings, Jamshidi said, adding that Raisi especially pursued the Palestinians’ rights in talks with the authorities of Muslim countries as he tried to make them shoulder their responsibility through Islamic teachings.

Operation True Promise

Raisi, as the Supreme National Security Council’s chairman in charge of authorizing Operation True Promise, threw his full support behind the attack against the Israeli regime in mid-April, Jamshidi said.

He added that the late president believed that Iran should deal with the Israeli regime decisively and should teach it a lesson over its repeated acts of aggression against the Islamic Republic.

Therefore, he supported Operation True Promise and maintained that Israel would receive a stronger response if it attacked Iran, Jamshidi said.

Respect for staff

Elsewhere in his remarks, the official said that President Raisi treated his staff respectfully and intimately regardless of their position, a point which was also highlighted by Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

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