TEHRAN - Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei said on Monday that the government’s “very important” policy is expanding ties with the neighboring countries.

“All of us and also littoral states to the Persian Gulf must be aware that there are ill-wishers who seek to harm any success in bridging differences,” he said during a press conference.

He added, “Today, our people are well aware that enjoying friendly relations with neighbors and deepening them are the most effective instrument to counter bullying and unilateralism of extra-regional powers.”

Pointing to President Hassan Rouhani’s participation in the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) summit in Armenia on October 1, Rabiei said the president’s visit was in line with expanding relations with neighbors.

“At the current juncture, this visit has been of great importance. It plays an important role in ties with neighbors,” he said.

During a speech at the summit, Rouhani called for forming a special task force for joint investment.

“I welcome any kind of financial and banking cooperation with member states to Eurasian Union. So, I suggest the formation of a special task force for joint investment,” Rouhani told the delegates at the EEU summit.

He also noted that Iran supports cooperation within the framework of economic and political blocs such as the EEU, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO).

Presidential chief of staff Mahmoud Vaezi has said that Iran will start economic interaction with the EEU from October 27.

“Iran’s economic interaction with this union will be started on October 27. In the first phase, 502 items of our commodities will enter the union’s member states with preferential tariff near to zero,” he told ISNA in an interview published on Sunday.

He added, “It is obvious that we should search for new partners and different markets for our products when the country is under sanctions and economic terrorism and when our old economic partners are under pressure by the United States.”

“Being a member of the Eurasia Union is a very good opportunity for our businessmen,” he noted. 

Vaezi also said that Iran’s participation in the Eurasia Union will prove to the U.S. that it has failed to “isolate Iran economically”.

“They imagined that they could make us surrender through imposing maximum pressure and blocking international business to us. However, we have not had let them achieve their objectives in a diplomatic move we have taken in the past months,” he said.

‘Poisoned propaganda will not separate Iranians and Iraqis’

Rabiei also said that “fake” and “poisoned” propaganda will not separate the Iranian and Iraqi people.

Iran has always been ready to stand beside the Iraqi government and people, he added.

The remarks by the government spokesman comes as certain Iraqi cities, including Shia-populated ones, were the scene of protests.

Most analysts and officials firmly believe the protests were provoked from outside Iraq to undermine the incoming great Arbaeen March in which hundreds of thousands of Iranians also take part.

NA/PA