President Ebrahim Raeisi of Iran has encouraged the government to more actively engage in practical measures to improve the Islamic Republic’s relations with Muslim and neighboring states.
Speaking at a cabinet session on Sunday, Raeisi said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible to put a premium on Iran’s foreign relations as underscored by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
“Although relations with the target countries have expanded significantly in less than two years, they can still improve beyond the current level given the existing capacities,” the president stated.
On Saturday, the Leader addressed a group of Foreign Ministry officials and ambassadors to other countries in Tehran. Ayatollah Khamenei warned of efforts by enemies to tarnish relations between Iran and its neighbors.
The Leader referred to Iran's extensive borders with its neighbors. Ayatollah Khamenei said the government’s policy of effective communication with the neighboring countries is of high importance.
Elsewhere in his remarks on Sunday, President Raeisi hailed the "honorable and proud" accomplishment of the mission of the Iranian Navy’s 86th flotilla of warships after a round-the-world voyage.
The Iranian president said the mission depicted “the strength and power of the Navy and the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” which, he said, “deserves appreciation.”
The Iranian Navy’s flotilla, comprised of domestically-manufactured Dena destroyer and Makran forward base ship, entered Iran’s territorial waters on May 17, after sailing 63,000 kilometers of sea routes over eight months and a circumnavigation of the globe in 360 degrees.
The fleet had set sail on a mission around the world from Iran's southern port city of Bandar Abbas on September 20, 2022.