In an interview with Shafaqna, International Shia News Agency , Qasemi summed up the performance of the Foreign Ministry in the Iranian calendar year of 1396 (to end on March 21) as acceptable.
He said the Foreign Ministry made abundant achievements in this year while at the same time facing many challenges including the issue of terrorism, crises around the country such as the problems of Syria and Yemen, continuation of unwise policies against Iran on the part of certain countries like Saudi Arabia and behavior of (US President Donald) Trump towards the Islamic Republic.
Terrorism was perhaps one of the most important challenges facing the country, Qasemi said, adding that driving Daesh terrorists out of Iraq and defeating them in Syria were among the outstanding and successful part of Iran's anti-terror campaign. Of course, the defeat of Daesh can be considered a success for regional nations and countries including Iraq, Syria and Iran than has been on the forefront of the fight against terrorism.
On measures taken by the Islamic Republic to mend its relations with Arab countries, he said 'We have managed to improve our relationship with many countries around us and in some states initial steps have been taken.'
'In Central Asia, Caucasus and some countries with which we had low level relationship such as Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, we managed to upgrade our ties, ' the spokesman said.
Qasemi said the recent visit by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to Pakistan was a step forward in connection with that country. He also referred to President Hassan Rouhani's long-awaited visit to India during which a large number of documents were signed by the two countries. 'All in all, besides Central Asia and Caucasus, we witness an upward trend of relations in the Indian Subcontinent.'
On relations with Arab countries, Qasemi said 'In the Persian Gulf region we have good relationship with Oman and even Kuwait and Qatar but Iran is facing a serious problem in the region and that is Saudi Arabia.
'We have made extensive efforts for normalization of relations and creating a suitable climate for talks with Saudi Arabia but unfortunately continuation of Saudi Arabia's illusions in the wake of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the 2015 Iran nuclear deal with G5+1) showed that the country lacks adequate preparedness for talks with Iran to reach an understanding.'
The presence of Trump in America and certain policies adopted by the United States and Europe to empty the resources of the Islamic states and sell arms in the region have on a large scale affected the Saudi government's behavior, Qasemi said.
The spokesman said although the Foreign Ministry cannot do the job of the country's economic apparatus, but it did it best in 1396 to attract foreign investments.
In most of Mr. Zarif's overseas trips, an economic delegation comprising representatives of government-owned or private institutions accompanied him with an aim of preparing the ground for expansion of interactions between Iran and those countries visited by the foreign minister, he said.
Thanks to such efforts by the Foreign Ministry in 1396, some investors traveled to the country and the index of investment risk in Iran dropped to five from six that is important for attracting foreign investments.
Another type of obstacles in the way of foreign investments in the country are Iranophobia and anti-Iran policies pursued by certain trans-regional and even some regional countries, he said, adding 'One of the diplomatic efforts made by the Iranian Foreign Ministry in 1396 was to counter such policies followed by the US and some of its allies in the region at high costs against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The spokesman said however that the JCPOA lifted many of these obstacles but due to Washington's obstructionist policies there are still some impediments in connection with big banks and removing this requires the county's diplomatic apparatus to continue its efforts.
On Iran's reaction to the United States' possible exit from the JCPOA, Qasemi said 'The JCPOA is the result of a national will and understanding. The Foreign Ministry as an diplomatic apparatus responsible for enforcing the country's foreign policy has done a large portion of negotiations which led to the signing of the deal. Any decision on future challenges in connection with the JCPOA or what may happen in the future will be taken by the High Board Overseeing JCPOA.'
Given the fact that the JCPOA is supported by the UN Security Council and its Resolution 2231 and with regards to its strong basis and its signatories, it would not be easy for the United States to create a major problem for the deal, Qasemi said. 'Over the past year Mr. Trump announced from time to time that he will quit the deal or there are flaws in the JCPOA but has actually done nothing in this regard.'
The spokesman said it seems that the US administration is after creating a negative climate (against Iran) and discouraging other countries from cooperating with Iran. Many analysts are of the belief that Mr. Trump will continue his policies and try to deprive Iran of the deal's benefits and prevent the complete presence of other countries and economic institutions in Iran.
The spokesman said the approach of Europe and the European Union to the JCPOA has been quite clear so far, indicating that they, like many other independent states such as Russia and China, will not follow the US policies and insist on preserving the deal.
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