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Salehi: Ties with Muslim states a priority

Iran’s new Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi says boosting Tehran’s ties with neighboring and Muslim countries will be on top priority of the country’s Foreign Ministry.

During his vote of confidence session in Iran’s Parliament (Majlis) in the capital Tehran on Sunday, Salehi also said that he is determined to increase Iran’s interaction with the (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council’s member states to establish peace and security in the region.

Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, also noted that he “will try to further expand ties with Africa.”

“The misunderstanding between Iran and Senegal has been completely removed during my recent visit to the African country,” he added.

The Iranian top diplomat went on to say that he will work to straighten relations between Iran and Latin American countries, saying close ties with Southern Americans are “at the top agenda of the Iranian Foreign Ministry.”

“We are interested in strong ties with the EU and the international community based on mutual respect,” the new Iranian minister continued.

Salehi also pointed out that the Iranian diplomatic apparatus “will use all its efforts to confront the enemy’s soft warfare.”

He also called for a “major change” in the structure of the United Nations, saying, “The biggest enemies of human rights are those who politicize the issue.”

Referring to the Palestinian people’s resistance against Israel, Salehi said that their struggles have “shattered the myth of the Zionist regime’s invincibility.”

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad introduced Salehi to Iran’s Parliament one month after he dismissed former Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.

Salehi won the vote of confidence of Iranian parliamentarians by getting 146 votes of the 241 lawmakers present in Majlis. Sixty lawmakers voted against Salehi and 35 abstained from voting.

This is the first reshuffle in President Ahmadinejad’s second term in office, which began in 2009.

The Iranian chief executive had also replaced 12 of his cabinet ministers during his first tenure from 2005 to 2009.

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