Iranian FM: A 'balanced foreign policy' is neither east nor west

ByNews Desk- The Cradle 

Tehran reveals that it is willing to work with and cooperate with all countries, west and east

In an interview aired on Press TV on 27 February, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Tehran is employing a “balanced foreign policy” that leans neither toward the east nor the west.

“A balanced foreign policy accepts both the west and the east. It means that we won’t put all our eggs neither in Beijing’s nor in Moscow’s basket. A balanced foreign policy pays attention to maintaining ties with all the five continents,” he explained.

Amir-Abdollahian stressed that this balance is in the best interest of Iran and its citizens, and revealed that Tehran is even willing to mend relations with countries such as the United States, which have historically been hostile towards Iran.

Mending ties depends on “if the Americans show a change in their behavior towards Iran, and prove they want to establish ties with Tehran based on mutual respect and observing mutual rights, something they haven’t done over the past 43 years and did not do even before the victory of the Islamic Revolution,” the foreign minister stated.

Amir-Abdollahian added that Iran remains convinced that multilateralism is the most effective political system to guarantee global peace, security and stability.

During the interview, the foreign minster described the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan as “embarrassing.” He said contrary to Washington’s claims that the pullout was voluntary and well-planned, the chaotic manner in which it was conducted showed that the US only left Afghanistan because it had no other options.

In August 2021 the US ended it’s 20 year-long occupation of Afghanistan, a withdrawal marked by chaotic scenes that saw stampedes at Kabul airport and people falling to their deaths from a departing military plane.