Tehran: Iran should make improving relations with its neighbors the top priority of its foreign policy, while firmly resisting external pressure, a senior Iranian official said on Sunday. Kamal Kharrazi, head of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations and a former foreign minister, emphasized the importance of maintaining independence, standing up to coercion, and expanding ties with neighboring countries as central pillars of Tehran's external engagement.

According to Islamic Republic News Agency, Kharrazi highlighted that neighbors should be treated with 'compassion' and that constructive cooperation is essential. He also stressed that Iran should respond forcefully to adversaries seeking to undermine its sovereignty, with responses being proportionate to the level of hostility faced.

He pointed out that the United States has been hostile to Iran 'from the outset,' and that Iran has responded accordingly. Kharrazi made these statements during a specialized panel of the first National Congress on Foreign Policy and the History of Foreign Relations, which commenced on Sunday at the foreign ministry's Institute for Political and International Studies. Over the course of the two-day event, diplomats and academics are discussing Iran's foreign relations and its place in the international system.