Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said close interaction with neighbors and Muslim and like-minded countries is a main priority of Tehran�s foreign policy, lauding�the breakthrough in Iran�s foreign relations as a result of his administration�s policy of balanced relations with the world

In comments at a televised interview held on Tuesday on the occasion of the second anniversary of his election as the president of Iran, Raisi said his administration does not tie the country's progress to underway talks aimed at the potential removal of the US-led sanctions against Tehran.

"What is more important is (for us) to enhance the country to such level of strength that would render it immune to sanctions," he added, Press TV reported.

Raisi also turned to the issue of Iran's foreign policy during his tenure.

Under his presidency, Iran has been pursuing "balanced and consistent" relations with the entire world, he said, insisting that the Islamic Republic should not limit its foreign relations to a certain number of countries to the exclusion of others.

The same foreign policy attitude prompted the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to agree to Iran's request for membership in the transcontinental alliance, which is expected to accept the Islamic Republic as a full member, the Iranian president noted.

"We will cooperate with whatever country that could pursue having relations (with us that are) based on mutual respect. And if (there are some) rare countries such as the United States that should seek to be adversarial towards us, we will resort to resistance against them," he stated.

Raisi noted that, since the beginning of his tenure, Iran has been extending a friendly hand to all the countries, which are similarly friendly towards the Islamic Republic and are aligned with it.

He cited the instance of Iran's recent rapprochement with Saudi Arabia, noting that despite all the differences between the countries, the Islamic Republic never perceived the kingdom as its actual enemy.

By Tasnim