Call for Foreign Policy Discretion

EghtesadOnline: President Hassan Rouhani highlighted the deteriorating international situation since the hostile US President Donald Trump took office four months ago and called for more discretion regarding matters of foreign policy.

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12 May 2017

"Our situation is critical on the global scene and is worse than three years ago. We are not saying that those who left office in the US system were our friends. They are all the same and are considered the enemies of the Islamic Republic," ICANA quoted the president as telling a gathering of lawmakers in Tehran on Wednesday.

US Republican President Donald Trump has adopted a tougher policy against Iran than his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama.

Rouhani said, "The group that has come to office in the US is more difficult to deal with [than the previous one] because they have a different attitude. We should be more careful and do some planning."

According to Financial Tribune, the president is campaigning to win a second term in the May 19 election.

He said that Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has asked him to call for a large turnout in the presidential vote.

"The Leader has instructed me to invite people to participate in the election. Wisdom and national security considerations make it imperative for people to come to the ballot box," he said.

Shortly after his inauguration on January 20, Trump said Iran was "playing with fire" after the country dismissed his warnings over its missile tests as "unfounded and provocative".

In a post on Twitter, Trump said his administration would not be as "kind" to Iran as the government of his predecessor.

"Iran is playing with fire—they don't appreciate how 'kind' president Obama was to them. Not me!"

He has also said, "nothing is off the table" when it comes to Iran, including a military option.

Trump has imposed a raft of new sanctions on individuals and entities linked to Iran's missile program and regional activities.

While campaigning for the White House, he rapped the nuclear pact Obama negotiated with Iran, along with the administrations of five other powers, namely Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany.

It eased sanctions against Iran in exchange for curbing its nuclear activities.

The hawkish business tycoon has called the international agreement a "disaster" and "the worst deal ever negotiated" and has vowed to either renegotiate or renounce it.

His administration acknowledged last month that the Islamic Republic was complying with the nuclear restrictions but said it was launching an inter-agency review of whether the lifting of sanctions against Iran was in the US national security interests.

The conservative contenders of Rouhani, whose Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his team represented the Islamic Republic in the two-year-long nuclear talks, have criticized the accord for compromising the Islamic Republic's principles and failing to yield economic benefits.