In a note published in Farhikhtegan newspaper on June 23, Ali Salehian and Mojtaba Hossein Fahraji, GPTT senior researchers discussed the requirements of the next Iranian president’s foreign policy. According to them, countries usually have constant principles in foreign policy, which do not change fundamentally with different individuals in office. One of the most important sources of adopting policies in Iran is previous historical experiences, especially crises such as the eight years of the Iran-Iraq War. The independent nature of the Islamic Republic of Iran made it choose “asymmetric deterrence” based on its relative advantages to ensure security instead of adopting policies such as “bandwagoning.”

They mentioned that in recent years, some in the government believed that “misunderstandings” between Iran and the US have caused the crisis between the two countries. The lessons learned during the 2010s and before that showed that the main policies and strategies of Western countries, especially the US, towards Iran are not the result of a “mistake” that can be “corrected,” but rather a “perception,” so there is no other way than to face it and manage it. Salehian and Hosseini Fahraji stressed that while sanctions are a “bitter” international reality and indeed have its effects, it should be noted that the problem is inherently bilateral and not only dependent on our will. Therefore, the approach of excessive concession to solve the problems only proves the effectiveness of the sanctions for the one who imposes them and leads to their continuation. One should be careful in this situation not to learn the lessons and prioritize the party or even personal benefit, the function and capacity of diplomacy would drain and weaken.