TEHRAN – President Hassan Rouhani has said that Iran is known as the forerunner in fighting terrorism and bears message of “security” and “stability” to the people of the Middle East.

“The Islamic Iran seeks to establish stability and development in the region and to boost unity and empathy in the world of Islam,” he said during a meeting with the new Iranian ambassadors to Senegal, Thailand, the Philippines, Belgium, Pakistan, Denmark, Greece, Sri Lanka and Malaysia on Saturday.

He also highlighted the importance of using opportunities created after clinching the nuclear agreement.

“The current opportunity should be used in line with expanding political, cultural and economic relations with other countries and also using talents on the path of cooperation and maximizing the national interests in the international relations,” he noted.

Iran and the 5+1 group - the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia plus Germany - finalized the text of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in Vienna on July 14.

Elsewhere, Rouhani said that appointing Marzieh Afkham, the former Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, as the first female Iranian ambassador after the Islamic Revolution shows the women’s capability.

In October, Afkham was appointed as the new Tehran’s ambassador to Malaysia, becoming first Iranian woman who has been appointed to such a post since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

NA/PA