Iranian presidential candidate Saeed Jalili says he will stick to the ideals of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in his foreign policy should he win the June 14 vote.
Å“The Islamic Republic of Iranâ„¢s foreign policy is based on the Islamic Revolution discourse. It has its own values, principles, objectives and interests defined within the framework of a paradigm,” Jalili said in a question/answer speech on Monday.
Å“Every other country has defined its own foreign policy similarly. The common points between these paradigms give rise to opportunities and subsequently points of interaction. The points of difference give rise to confrontation and threats,” he added.
Jalili, who is currently Iranâ„¢s chief nuclear negotiator, noted that popular potentials need to be exhausted for empowering the country.
Å“Based on my estimates of the country, including hardware and software potentials and particularly the peopleâ„¢s potentials, I believe that these potentials can empower the country if they serve the country the best,” he stated.
Å“This objective will not be realized without the peopleâ„¢s contribution. We should keep in mind that we need to use popular potentials to follow up on this objective,” added Jalili.
Jalili is facing seven rivals in the upcoming election including former Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati, lawmaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, Secretary of Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaei, Tehran Mayor Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, President of the Strategic Research Center of the Expediency Council Hassan Rohani, former First Vice President Mohammad-Reza Aref, and former Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Gharazi.
The president of Iran is elected for a four-year term in a national election, and the Guardian Council vets the candidates.
KA/HGH
This article originally appeared on: Press TV