TEHRAN – A senior member of the Majlis says that while the country is under sanctions and foreign pressure, internal unity is the most prominent remedy, believing that unity will “vaccinate” the country against sanctions and plots by ill-wishers.

“I believe that now more than any other time we need unity and integrity,” Masoud Pezeshkian, the deputy speaker of the Majlis, told ISNA in an interview published on Friday.

His remarks addressed a case of mudslinging a few days ago during the impeachment of labor minister Ali Rabii.

“Society has to judge how fair the surrounding issues of the impeachment session were. Nobody is free of mistakes,” he stressed.

He said that while the U.S. is imposing sanctions to create hardship in Iran “we should try not to find faults and instead focus on strong points.”

“It would be injustice to people when we swear at each other. If we find a weak point and repeatedly magnify it and drive everything else to the margin, it would be an unforgivable treason.”

He stressed that officials could suffice to a simpler lifestyle and instead increase empathy among themselves and with people.

The senior lawmaker added, “When there is no integrity, there would be complexes in one’s mind.”

“Our integrity owes to togetherness, social capital, and the implementation of justice in society,” Pezeshkian said elsewhere in his interview when asked about Iran’s status in confronting the U.S.

“Justice knows no right and left, gender, faith, or taste. One who wants to act upon justice should treat even his enemy based on justice. If we manage to implement justice in action, we will find a strength which no foreign power can stymie.”

By right and left, Pezezkian meant conservatives and reformists.

He then added, “If America creates issues it is because some people agitate from inside. If people see that they are being treated fairly, or that all tastes, ethnicities, races, and genders are being treated fairly, that integrity will be created.”

“What forms our power is integrity and unity,” Noted Pezezkian who served as health minister during the Khatami administration. 

SP/PA