Iran’s foreign minister said the Iran war had changed the region’s security thinking, convincing Arab states that security must be collective and regional, not dependent on foreign bases that had become sources of insecurity.
In a wide-ranging interview with the president’s communications office, Araghchi said the war had demonstrated that external forces and bases not only failed to deliver security but actively undermined it. “Countries that did not have bases remained safer and suffered less from the war than those hosting American bases that were supposed to protect them. Those bases in practice protected the Zionist regime and could not defend their hosts,” he said.
He said a more accurate understanding had now emerged across the region: Persian Gulf security must be collective, must include economic dimensions, and could not be achieved amid economic and security imbalances between states.
Araghchi said Iran’s post-war foreign policy would be “completely different” from the pre-war period.
The image of a weak Iran has been completely erased. Before the war we appeared weak, and that misperception invited attack. After 40 days of resistance, that image has turned into the image of a tough and resistant Iran that can stand on its feet in the hardest conditions, he underlined.
He said Western media had acknowledged that Iran’s public diplomacy during the war had been “extremely strong and influential, more influential than the entire Western media.” He defended Iran’s diplomats abroad, saying none had left their posts despite pressure.
The minister praised President Masoud Pezeshkian’s role in the negotiations, calling him the most important factor in reaching the Islamabad MoU. He said Pezeshkian had opposed a mere ceasefire after the 12-day war and insisted on an end to the war that would not be repeated. The Americans had begun with a 15-point text that was effectively a “surrender document,” he said, while the final 14-point MoU showed how far the process had moved.
Araghchi said Pezeshkian was a reformist in method but “completely principled” in substance, with a deep commitment to Iran’s defensive strength and the welfare of the entire population.
“From now on, Iranians will see the image of a powerful, strong and dignified foreign policy that pursues national interests, the rights of the people and the pride of Iran,” Araghchi said.
Source: MEHR News Agency