Iran’s foreign policy principles unchangeable: Iranian official

TEHRAN,June 19(MNA) – Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Araqchi said that the Islamic Republic’s principles of foreign policy are unchangeable. “The Islamic Republic of Iran’s principles and values of foreign policy are unchangeable, and what changes in practice is methods and styles, and as Mr. Rohani said, (the protection of) Iranian nation’s rights is the criterion, and any government in any situation is committed to defending them,” Araghchi said at his regular press briefing on Tuesday when asked whether Iran’s foreign policy will change after the election of moderate Hassan Rohani as new president. On the process of talks between Iran and the 5+1 group (the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France, and Germany) on the dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program, the Foreign Ministry official said that Iran was ready to continue the talks with world power. He also said that no new date had been set for a new round of talks, adding that official talks would normally resume after the new government took office. The Obama administration and its European allies intend to push to resume negotiations with Tehran on its nuclear program by August to test the positions of the government of Iran’s new president, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, quoting U.S. and European diplomats. Rohani will take up the presidency in August. Elsewhere in his remarks, Araqchi dismissed the reports by some Western media outlets claiming that Iran plans to send troops to aid the Syrian government to deal with armed rebels. “The Syrian government and army do not need such assistance and the sending of troops, and they are able to deal with terrorist groups,” he said. The Independent claimed on Sunday it had learned that a military decision had been taken in Iran to send a first contingent of 4,000 Iranian Revolutionary Guards to Syria to support President Bashar al-Assad’s forces against the militants that has cost almost 100,000 lives in just over two years.