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- Iran in reverse brain drain as top students come home in rising numbers
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- Iran, China confer on Syria
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- Zarif meets with Iran-Kuwait Friendship Group members
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- ‘Iran to stay in nuclear deal as long as its interests are met’
- India envoy happy with positive trend of trade with Iran
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- Iranian scientist discovers new state of matter
- Iran, Japan diplomats discuss bilateral ties
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- US faces humiliating defeat after Gibraltar releases Iranian tanker: Envoy
- Spokesman rejects claim on Iran’s commitment in exchange for tanker release
- Zarif reacts to release of Iranian tanker in Gibraltar
- Israel, UAE engaged in secret talks on Iran arranged by US: Report
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- Gibraltar releases Iran-operated tanker despite US pressure
Tehran, YJC. Former FM Spokesman says there are parties in Iran as well as in the US which do not desire proximity between the countries.
Hamidreza Asefi in interview with Mosalas Online believed that the proper national coalition is not yet formed to pursue relations with the US.
The former Foreign Ministry Spokesman pointed to the new US
approach to Iran and said "The different language of Barack Obama in relation
to Iran is clearly discernible. It is something that must be welcomed.”
He further stated that growing relations with the US is no
overnight matter, but the result of 33 years of resistance.
Asefi said "Iran faces fewer problems than the US in improving
relations, that is, Iran is not influenced by any foreign country for doing so.
What lays the way before us is the country’s interests, which are defined by
us; so no country can pressurize Iran and tell it how its relations with the US
must be. But there are also groups inside the country which do not desire relations
with the US. Of these, there is the group whose party interests rank at higher
priorities. Yet there is the other group which thinks ideologically and believes
that relations with the US are not beneficial. Under such circumstances if the
government intends to improve relations with the US, it has to satisfy these
two groups.”
He also pointed to the Obama-Rouhani phone call before Rouhani's departure from New York and said "I can say that in diplomatic affairs it has been proven to me that if you do something before its time has come, it will turn into its own opposite. That means that the Iran-US thing needs national agreement first, and as long as there is no such agreement, the relation will resemble a green fruit which cannot be picked off the tree. But one cannot dismiss the fact that the phone call soothed the atmosphere between Iran and the West.”
He also
pointed to Iran-EU relations and said "Iran must work its way toward détente with
the EU for a number of reasons. First, right now there are hundreds of
thousands Iranians living in Europe. Iran must also pay attention to Europe in
terms of technological investment. In terms of the export of oil and other
things also, Europe is a good and trustworthy market. And finally, on both
sides upon many occasions the culture is indebted to the other side.”
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