Iran seeks engagement with all countries based on respect

"The Islamic Republic of Iran wants cooperation and engagement with all countries, but this cooperation must be based on mutual respect and taking into account the interests of nations, and the hegemonic powers and the dominating system must not take control of these relations," the Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi said on Sunday in a meeting with new UK ambassador to receive his credentials.

Raeisi underlined that Iran is a truly independent country, adding that if the Iranian nation feels other countries are bullying it will not give in and will react.

The president stressed that human rights have become a political means against other countries, calling on the new UK envoy to Tehran to convey the reality about Iran to its own country.

The new UK ambassador Simon Shercliff, for his part, said that this is the second time that he is serving as a diplomat for his country after twenty years from his first mission in Iran, stressing that he has good experience and knowledge of Iran and his main goal is to try to improve relations between the two countries with a positive and constructive approach.

Shercliff pointed to the history of UK-Iranian relations and expressed hope that a new era of relations between the two countries would be created and that he would play his role well in achieving that goal.

KI