TEHRAN- Ali Akbar Velayati, the top foreign policy advisor to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, has emphasized that Iran’s inclusion in the BRICS group of emerging economies has stymied Washington’s aim of isolating Tehran.

In an exclusive interview with Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen, which was released on Monday, Velayati said that “this membership has placed an East-oriented policy as well as more alliance and cooperation with the regional states at the top of Iran’s foreign policies.”

He added, “Iran’s BRICS membership has undermined the faith of the region’s nations in the United States.”

Iran’s membership in the BRICS group demonstrates the Islamic Republic’s commitment to fostering positive ties with the rest of the globe and that it has been successful in defying the United States’ long-sought isolation scheme, the former foreign minister stressed.

“Today, Iran is stronger than it was in the past. It plays a very constructive and positive role in the region and the world through its active diplomacy in all fields,” Velayati averred.

Addressing the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg on Thursday, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa declared that the member nations had decided to welcome Iran, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia as new members beginning on January 1, 2024.

BRICS has taken on a unique role in Iranian foreign policy as a result of its growing significance in global geopolitical and political developments.

Velayati emphasized that Iran has never actually been alone, saying that the nation has had ongoing exchanges and connections with multiple countries in a variety of ways, especially since it began to adopt a “political policy of Eastward orientation and good neighborly relations.”

“Thus, the policy of isolation against Iran has without doubt failed and those who attempted to isolate another country ended up rather building a fence around themselves,” the Leader’s aide pointed out.

The veteran politician said that the United States and its allies had utterly failed in their efforts to isolate the Islamic Republic, adding, “These failed policies became more evident after Iran’s official membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.”