Iran foreign minister-designate underlines support for allies in region
Presenting his plans as foreign minister at a parliament session to review proposed cabinet members Sunday, President Ebrahim Raisi's candidate for the post, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, told lawmakers that the government will strive to strengthen Iran's allies in the region.
"The resistance movement is Iran's allies that were freely formed to ensure sustainable security in the region and in their countries and are a great potential for establishing national security in regional countries," Amir-Abdollahian, a former deputy foreign minister and Raisi's foreign policy advisor told lawmakers.
"We will support [our] allies and the resistance movement with pride and strength to help maximal security and cooperation in the region."
Amir-Abdollahian also said countries in the region should cooperate with each other and "review the fate of the governments that trusted the United States".
Promising that his ministry will do its best "to neutralize" US sanctions, Amir-Abdollahian said he would not tie the policies of the foreign ministry to the talks over the 2015 nuclear agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
"We will go along with the kind of talks that are not attritional and ensure the rights and interests of the Iranian nation," he said.
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