Iran’s new foreign minister Abbas Araghchi in an interview with Japan’s Kyodo news agency on August 22 set the foreign policy compass under President Masoud Pezeshkian in a new sequencing of priorities. Araghchi said as a crucial step toward removing sanctions on Iran’s economy and normalising trade with the international community, the Foreign Ministry will seek to manage tensions with Washington and rebuild ties with European states. He called for “earnest, focused, and time-bound negotiations.”

Later, he disclosed that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has emphasised two missions: “The first mission is to neutralise sanctions, which the whole government should follow. Our first goal is to neutralise the sanctions and its impacts on the people.”

The foreign minister added, “Our priority is our neighbours. Our second priority is to expand the field of diplomacy to Africa and East Asia. The third priority is the countries that stood by Iran in difficult situations.”

Four days later, at a ceremony held at the Iranian Foreign Ministry on August 27 to honour and introduce Araghchi, Pezeshkian also underscored that his government’s priority is to look for ways to get the sanctions removed.

Earlier on the same day, while receiving Pezeshkian and his cabinet colleagues, Khamenei signalled his approval for renewed negotiations with the US over Iran’s nuclear program. (here)

These are of course opening shots. When a big ship changes course, it cannot but be over a wide arc that is hardly visible to viewers. Without doubt, Iran is at a historic crossroads in its long and difficult journey since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

The salience is that the Axis of Resistance is not topping Iran’s........

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