TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Tuesday that the people’s dignity should be respected in the political campaigns.

The remarks by the chief diplomat came as the presidential rivals are trading barbs. 

“When the regional countries announce that they cannot compete with Iran because of the JCPOA (the Persian acronym for the international nuclear deal), we should not question the people’s dignity in parochial political campaigns for some short-term benefits,” he said during his speech at a conference of association of surgeons in Tehran.

The Iranian people have dignity and pride in spite of all the pressures, he said adding that Iran has made advances in the area of science and people’s living conditions have been improved.

He added, “Definitely, it is not possible to make up for pressures that were exerted on the people’s living conditions during eight year (of the Ahmadinejad presidency) in just one year and four months after the removal of sanctions.” 

The July 2015 nuclear deal between Iran, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, Germany and the European Union went into effect in January 2016. 

Zarif said the people can witness a better prospect if they become hopeful about the future.

Elsewhere, he said that decisions on the country’s future cannot be made by relying on “old patterns and thoughts”. 

“In a situation in which the tools for power and also interaction in the international community have been changed fundamentally, it is the people who are the permanent element of the country’s power,” he added.

He noted that the people deserve respect and should be the main motivators behind any decision.

Zarif added “adopting people-based policy”, “serving the people” and “removing burden from the people’s shoulders” form the most important factors of the country’s national power.

“Being people-based is a policy not a slogan. When it comes to the international relations, this policy means that you should sacrifice yourself for the future of the people (and) not sacrifice the people for your political future,” the chief diplomat noted.

NA/PA