Tehran, Aug 18, IRNA - Following a nuclear agreement with the P5+1 group, Iran has entered into a new foreign policy discourse.

The country seeks to expand its diplomatic cooperation in the Middle East that has faced wars and crises for the past four years.
In an article by Jahangir Karami on its Tuesday edition, the Tehran-based English newspaper Iran Daily wrote, foreign Minister Zarif’s intensive visits to the regional countries, new interactions with Russia on bilateral and regional issues and especially Tehran’s offer of negotiations to the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) are aimed at setting a new framework for regional cooperation in the wake of ending the decade-old dispute with the West. This goal suggests that Iran is pooling its efforts to counter terrorism and extremism in the region.
Iran’s attempts to end the crisis in Syria have hit the headlines in recent days. This is while, other states’ challenges ended up in a cul-de-sac in resolving the conflicts during the past two years and they have come to the understanding that political challenges in Syria will not have a loser or winner. Iran’s four-point peace proposal to help end the country’s four-year-old armed skirmishes makes sense in such circumstances.
The Iranian foreign minister during his visits to regional states and Russia concentrated on the Syrian issue. Besides, furthering relations between Iran and Russia is also of great importance. Comprehensive agreements have been signed and a new chapter has opened in the post-deal era for the two countries.
Apparently, Russia follows economic goals in Iran as the country’s officials stress that re-imposing of anti-Iran sanctions is impossible. Cooperation in the oil sector and industrial technologies as well as the Caspian Sea’s legal regime, Tehran’s joining to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and even the country’s cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Community were on the agenda of Zarif’s meetings in Moscow.
Iran and Russia also have nuclear cooperation. There is an agreement between the two countries for building two 1,000-MW nuclear power plants in Iran. Zarif might have discussed nuclear cooperation with Russian officials as well.
*Karami is a political analyst.

By IRNA