TEHRAN -- President Ebrahim Raisi has said his administration seeks cooperation with all countries based on mutual respect.
On Sunday, Raisi received credentials of Britain’s new Ambassador to Iran Simon Shercliff and asked him to reflect and convey the facts that he sees in Iran “correctly and realistically to the UK”.
He also emphasized that the West and Europe should view Iran as an independent country.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran wants to establish cooperation and interaction with all countries, but this cooperation must be based on mutual respect and taking into account the interests of nations, and the hegemonic current and the system of domination should not overshadow these relations,” Raisi said.
“Our country is truly independent and our independence is not just a claim. Given your good knowledge of Persian, you should explain the true meaning of these words in Iran to your government officials,” he added.
The president asserted that Iranians were “freedom-seeking” and would never succumb to “coercion” and “bullying”. Calling for “mutual respect” from other states, Raisi emphasized that the Islamic Republic does not accept anything that is “against the right.”
“Whenever they sense that other countries are being bullies, the Iranian people refuse to submit and they react,” he said.
Additionally, Raisi regretted that in the present scenario, human rights have become a “political weapon” for slandering rival powers.
“We feel responsible to respect human rights based on their views and religious beliefs, and you know how many of those who claim to support human rights treat their nation,” he said.
In a separate meeting with Austria’s new Ambassador to Tehran Wolf Dietrich Heim, President Raisi said unlawful and oppressive sanctions against the Iranian people might create some obstacles, but they could not prevent Iran from boosting its trade ties with other countries.
“Iran is fully prepared to expand trade and economic cooperation with Austria and other countries and obstacles will never stop us,”

he added, after receiving the Austrian diplomat’s credentials.
The president further pointed to numerous reports released by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) attesting to the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear activities, saying the nuclear-related sanctions were completely baseless.
For his part, the Austrian ambassador said Vienna was keen to increase cooperation with Tehran, particularly in the field of financing and economic exchanges.