Khamenei’s “six mandatory controls” on foreign policy
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei identified “six binding controls” for Tehran’s foreign policy, and expressed his support for the current government’s approach to rapprochement with neighboring countries, speaking of “the need for wise dealing and flexibility.” While preserving principles,” he warned at the same time against what he called “begging diplomacy.”
Khamenei’s official website quoted him as saying to senior officials in the diplomatic apparatus; Headed by Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, the “policy of communication with Islamic countries, even if it is far away” in addition to “the policy of communication with countries with a common orientation and supportive of Iran, is of great importance,” adding that “a good foreign policy and an effective diplomatic apparatus are among the pillars.” political administration for a successful administration in the country ».
Khamenei, in part of his speech, referred to the long, “sometimes important and influential” borders that connect Iran with multiple countries and said, “The current government’s policy of establishing relations with neighbors is very important and correct.” He added, “Foreign hands are active in creating problems between Iran and its neighbors, and you must not allow this policy to materialize.”
This is the first time Khamenei has commented. He has the final say in the Iranian state apparatus, on recent regional developments, after Saudi Arabia and Iran announced on March 10 that they had reached an agreement mediated by China regarding the resumption of diplomatic relations and the reopening of the embassies and representations of the two countries within a maximum of two months, which is an expected step in the coming days. .
With regard to Tehran’s relations with Beijing and Moscow, Khamenei was satisfied with an implicit reference, saying: “Today, the support of some major and important countries of the world and their sharing of the same approach with the Islamic Republic of Iran in some moves and basic lines of international politics are considered; An unprecedented phenomenon, and we must appreciate this opportunity and strengthen relations with those countries.
obligatory diplomacy
Khamenei obligated the officials of the diplomatic apparatus to observe 6 controls in foreign policy, stressing that compliance with these standards “is an indication of a successful foreign policy, and if there is no commitment to these controls, we will face problems in foreign policy theory or diplomatic performance and its operations.”
Khamenei explained the six controls as:
The ability to convincingly articulate the logic of the country’s approaches to various issues.
Active and guiding presence in various phenomena, events, and political-economic trends in the world.
Removing or limiting policies and decisions that threaten Iran.
– Weakening dangerous centers.
– Strengthening governments and allied and pro-Iranian groups and expanding the country’s strategic depth.
– The ability to diagnose hidden layers in regional and global decisions and actions.
internal situation
Khamenei stressed the importance of foreign policy and its role in improving the country’s management, saying, “Given the economic and cultural factors in analyzing the country’s current situation, it is often accused of neglecting the foreign policy factor in discussions.” Khamenei said, “A successful foreign policy certainly helps improve the country’s conditions, and on the other hand, imbalances and obstacles in foreign policy are problems in the country’s general situation, and examples of that are not few.”
Also, Khamenei’s official Arabic website quoted him as saying that he spoke of 3 key words in foreign policy; It is: “dignity, wisdom, and interest,” explaining that “pride means rejecting the diplomacy of begging in words or content, and avoiding pinning hopes on the statements and decisions of officials of other countries.”
and about wisdom; Khamenei saw it as embodied in “wise, thoughtful, and thoughtful” behavior and sayings. He added, “Every step in foreign policy should be rational and deliberate. Immediate and ill-conceived decisions and actions dealt a blow to the country at certain stages.”
A crisis of confidence and heroic resilience
Khamenei warned against “unnecessary trust in other parties,” considering that “the other side of wisdom in foreign policy.” And he declared, “We should not consider every saying in the world of politics a lie. There are true and acceptable sayings, but all sayings should not be trusted.”
Khamenei saw that deviating from principles in foreign policy contradicts pride and leads to hesitation. He said, “We are moving on all global issues, in word and deed.”
As for his emphasis on interest, Khamenei redefined the term “heroic flexibility” that preceded the exit of the nuclear talks in 2013, from the secret stage with the United States through Omani means, to a public stage within the framework of the “five plus one”, which ended with the nuclear agreement of 2015.
Khamenei said in this regard, “The interest; In the sense of having the flexibility in the cases necessary to overcome difficult and solid obstacles, and to continue walking; Another key word,” explaining that “preserving principles does not contradict interest in the aforementioned sense.” He continued: “A few years ago, when the concept of (heroic resilience) was introduced, it was misunderstood by outsiders and some of those inside. Interest means finding a way to overcome Difficult obstacles and continue the path to reach the goal ».
Khamenei’s remarks recall the criticisms that faced former Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif, and the directions of the previous government headed by Hassan Rouhani, whose conservative opponents have been accusing it of “softness” and pursuing “smile diplomacy” with Western countries, after he interpreted the term “heroic flexibility” as meaning Green light to make concessions in the negotiations.
like that; Khamenei urged officials of the diplomatic corps to take “personal initiatives” if they were “calculated” and “resulting from deliberate ideas” and the “appropriate timing”.
Khamenei’s recommendations to Iranian diplomats included the need to “locate” Iran in the new world order, in reference to the annual conference for members of the diplomatic corps, which is titled “Transformation in the Current World Order.”
Khamenei said, “Iran’s acquisition of its appropriate position in the new system requires it to monitor and evaluate global transformations and to have accurate knowledge of the details behind the scenes of events.”
Khamenei said, “The transformation of the world order is a long-term process full of turns and affected by unexpected events, and different countries have conflicting and different opinions and approaches to it.”
Abdullahian strategies
For his part, Abdullahian presented a report to Khamenei on his country’s “strategies” in foreign policy, saying that it “exited from the unilateral nuclear deal’s policy with the aim of creating a balance in foreign policy.” He said that his team gave priority to “economic diplomacy” and focused on developing non-oil exports, activating transit, and “a special view of the Asian continent; With the priority of neighbors and Islamic countries” and “supporting the axis of resistance” and “fruitful activation of participation in regional alliances, such as (the Eurasian Economic Union), the (Shanghai) and (BRICS) organizations,” as well as “progress in the strategy of aborting sanctions,” in conjunction with “Sanctions lifting negotiations,” which is the name that Abdul-Lihan insists on to describe the Vienna negotiations to revive the nuclear agreement, which reached a dead end last September after Tehran rejected a draft put forward by European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.