Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s designated Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that lifting sanctions in a “dignified and honorable” manner would be a priority for the Foreign Ministry if his appointment is approved by parliament.

On the second day of debates in the Iranian parliament on the list of ministers proposed by President Pezeshkian on Sunday, Araqchi presented and defended his main priorities, including the handling of sanctions against Iran.

He said the plans to lift sanctions would be pursued in coordination with Iranian lawmakers, adding that any decision would be made on the basis of consensus and mutual understanding.

He stressed that Iran would not tolerate hasty or exhausting negotiations on lifting sanctions.

The foreign policy of the new Iranian government will be based on preparing the ground for increasing the country’s wealth, power and dignity, stressed Araqchi, a former nuclear negotiator.

Negotiations to restore the 2015 nuclear deal – officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – began in April 2021, three years after the United States unilaterally withdrew from the UN Security Council-approved agreement and began targeting Iran’s economy with tough economic sanctions.

Iran criticized the lack of will of the United States and the E3 to revive the agreement and increased its nuclear activities in response to their refusal.

Tehran began lifting the cap on its nuclear activities set out in the JCPOA every two months. At the time, Iran also stated that it would reverse its nuclear decision if the Iranian economy remained protected from sanctions.

Iran will improve relations with neighbours and Europe

Elsewhere in his address to Iranian parliamentarians, Araqchi said he would vigorously pursue the good-neighbourly policy and seek to seize major economic and political opportunities to improve productive relations with neighbouring countries.

The president’s secretary of state designate said Iran’s priority was relations with countries like Russia and China, which had stood by it “in difficult times and during sanctions.”

He added that improving relations with emerging powers in Africa, Latin America and East Asia would be among his ministry’s other priorities.

“If Europe corrects its wrong and hostile behavior towards the Islamic Republic of Iran, it will be on our priority list,” Araqchi stressed.

He said Iran would pursue a policy of “management of hostilities” rather than “cessation of hostilities” in its relations with the United States.

He also reiterated Iran’s unwavering and full support for the Palestinian cause and the resistance of Lebanon and other resistance movements fighting against the cruel and criminal policies of the Israeli regime.

Araqchi noted that the next Iranian government will use all its political and diplomatic capacities to convey the resistance’s goals to the world and gain the support of countries in the region.

The Iranian parliament officially began reviewing the qualifications of proposed ministers for the new government on Saturday, with President Pezeshkian stressing the importance of maintaining unity and cohesion between the three branches of government to solve the country’s problems.

The Iranian president presented the list of his new cabinet members to parliament on August 11, less than two weeks after he was sworn in before the country’s parliamentarians. Araqchi and Abdolnaser Hemmati are the most prominent figures on his list.

Pezeshkian’s cabinet line-up has angered many members of the reform camp, but he defended the ministers he proposed and urged critics to “wait until the cabinet starts its work and then criticize it on the basis of its performance.”