Ali Baqeri-Kani, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator
Iran's Deputy foreign minister and chief nuclear negotiator Ali Baqeri-Kani says Tehran's foreign and military policies are synergistic and complementary.
Speaking at a meeting with a group of army commanders on Sunday, Baqeri-Kani said that the Islamic Republic has thwarted the enemy's trick in driving a wedge between foreign policy and defense policy thanks to resistance under the guidance of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
He said the discourse of resistance is dynamic and promotes stability, adding that lasting regional security depends on resisting aggression and occupation.
The Iranian diplomat also criticized regional Arab governments for normalizing their relations with Israel, saying such moves will never help those countries feel secure, noting that “History has proven aggression and occupation will never lead to order, stability and calm.”
“The interaction between some regional governments and the Zionist regime is similar to taking refuge in a wolf’s lair to protect oneself from the blissful spring rain”, he added.
Israel’s establishment of full relations last year with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain was a sign of Tehran’s inability to isolate its archenemy in the region.
Baqeri-Kani, who is also Tehran’s top negotiator in Vienna talks to restore Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal known as JCPOA, made no comments about the current state of the negotiations, which came to a halt in March as Tehran demanded the removal of its Revolutionary Guard from the US list of terrorist organizations.