The Leader of the Islamic Revolution met with the Minister and senior officials of Iran’s Foreign Ministry and also with ambassadors and representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran in other countries this morning, May 20, 2023.
During the meeting, Imam Khamenei delineated the meanings of the three keywords "honor, wisdom, and expediency" in Iranian foreign policy.
"Honor is the negation of imploring diplomacy, both in words and in content' and the avoidance of pinning hopes on the words and decisions of foreign officials," he said.
The Leader described the lack of reliance on principles in foreign policy as a violation of honor and the cause of hesitancy.
"In all global issues, in 'words, actions and when facing the measure that others have taken' we move with honor and in accordance to our principles," he added.
Imam Khamenei described the meaning of "wisdom" as speech and behavior that is "wise, well thought-out and prudent".
"All measures in foreign policy must be logical and well thought-out. Deterring, uncalculated decisions and actions have inflicted harm on the country at certain times."
The Leader of the Revolution called the lack of unwarranted trust in the other parties as another meanings of the concept of "wisdom." "Of course, not everything should be regarded as a lie in the world of politics, because there are truthful and acceptable words as well, however, not everything that is said should be trusted," he said.
"Expediency" in the sense of having flexibility in places where it is necessary to bypass hard and rocky obstacles in order to continue a path, was another important keyword that the Leader clarified.
In this regard, he underlined that, “Being flexible does not mean that you should ignore principles in the aforementioned sense. Of course, a few years ago, when I mentioned the term, 'heroic flexibility', it was misunderstood both inside and outside the country. Because expediency means finding a way to overcome difficult obstacles and to continue the path until you reach your goal."
Imam Khamenei explained six mandatory rules in foreign policy, underlining that, "compliance with these indicators is a sign of successful foreign policy, and if these rules are not observed, there will be problems either in the theory of foreign policy or in the functioning and operations of diplomacy."
The first principle that the Leader outlined is the ability to convincingly explain the rationale behind the country’s approach to various issues.
The other five principles included: “Having an effective, directive presence in various political-economic phenomena, events and currents in the world,” “Overcoming and reducing threatening policies and decisions against Iran,” “Weakening dangerous centers,” “Strengthening the governments and organizations that are allies with Iran as well as developing the country’s strategic depth,” and “The ability to detect the hidden layers in regional and global decisions and actions.”
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution hailed the current Iranian administration’s policy to communicate with neighboring countries, describing it as a correct and important measure. He added that "foreign hands are actively creating problems between Iran and its neighbors and you should not allow this policy to be realized. Contrary to the enemies' desires, you should continue the policy of having relations with our neighbors, Islamic countries and countries whose policies are in line with that of the Islamic Republic."
He also considered it important to maintain a policy of having relations with like-minded and Islamic countries, even if they are located in far regions. "Today, the cooperation and alignment of some big and important countries of the world with the Islamic Republic of Iran in some processes and fundamental lines of international politics is an unprecedented phenomenon, and we should appreciate this opportunity and strengthen the relations with those countries."
Pointing to the issue of the ambassadors' meeting regarding a transformation in the current world order and the frequent repetition of this issue in world literature, the Leader said, "The change in the world order is a long-term process full of ups and downs and affected by possible unforeseen events, and different countries have different and conflicting opinions and approaches to it."
He considered it necessary to properly place Iran in the new order by monitoring and evaluating global developments and recognizing the exact direction and behind the scenes of events. "Based on this observation and evaluation, practical suggestions should be extracted. Our ambassadors and heads of delegations play an important role in this field, especially in the influential countries."
Imam Khamenei remarked the importance of foreign policy and its important role in the administration and improvement of the country. "Despite paying attention to the economic and cultural factors in the analysis of the country’s current state, the foreign policy factor is often neglected in discussions. This is while a good and successful foreign policy will definitely improve the state of the country. On the other hand, disturbances and problems in foreign policy will result in problems in the general situation of the country, of which there are plenty of examples."
The Leader of the Revolution described Iran’s representatives abroad as representatives of the Iranian people, underlining that their behavior reflects the identity and nature of the Iranian nation. “An Iranian diplomat must serve as the epitome of faith, patriotism toward Iran, zeal, determination, dynamism, and hard work."
At the beginning of this meeting, Iranian Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, gave a report on the actions, programs and priorities of the current administration’s foreign policy department to create transformations.
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