FM: Tehran to Apply All Kinds of Diplomacy to Boost Iran's Int'l Role
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif emphasized the need for using all aspects of diplomacy in a balanced way as part of a strategy to boost the country's influence on the international scene.
“The global conditions necessitate approving a set of diplomacies…We should use all kinds of diplomacy in a balanced manner,” Zarif said in a television interview on Thursday evening.
The Iranian minister also stated that exercising “traditional diplomacy” in the contemporary world is not quite an efficient method any more, and stressed that Iran has a lot of capabilities for playing role in the world through diplomacy, including public, cultural, sports and official diplomacy.
Highlighting the importance of economic diplomacy along with other procedures for the development of Iran, Zarif added, “Economic diplomacy means that we (should) utilize the country’s tools and capabilities and this requires an understanding of the country’s potentials in (economic) state and private sectors.”
He then urged a national resolve to counter anti-Iran sanctions, which he described as a “major obstacle” to economic diplomacy.
The Iranian foreign minister’s remarks came a few weeks after the US House of Representatives approved a bill on July 31 to impose tougher sanctions on Iran’s oil exports and other economic sectors. The bill, which must be approved by the Senate and signed by Obama to become law, seeks to cut Iran's oil exports by one million barrels per day over a year.
Meanwhile, during his swearing-in ceremony on August 4, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani called on the western governments to abandon hostile policies towards Iran, and stated, "I say candidly that if you want a proper response, speak to Iran not with the language of sanctions but with the language of respect.”
He also added that the only way for interacting with Iran is dialog on equal footing, mutual confidence-building, mutual respect and reduction of hostilities.
