Iranian Presidential Candidate Outlines Hardline Foreign Policy

In the lead-up to Iran's presidential election, candidate Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has laid out a foreign policy that continues to bear the hallmark of Tehran's war-mongering.

Parliament speaker Ghalibaf, building on policies from the Ebrahim Raisi administration, insisted in a televised debate that "regional authority" is the cornerstone of Iran’s foreign relations, a stance that may further isolate Iran internationally amidst an ongoing war led by Iran's proxies.

He said, "Our issue is Iran and Iran's positioning in international relations," suggesting a focus on strengthening the so-called 'axis of resistance, Iran's terror proxies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.

With Hezbollah currently at war with Israel and the Houthis blockading the Red Sea region in support of Iran-backed Hamas's war with Israel in Gaza, his campaigning shows a certain continuation of Iran's warmongering.

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, founded the proxies in a bid to fight Iran's archenemy Israel and the West and any presidential hopeful must be sure to align with the theocratic dictator's policies in order to succeed in the upcoming June 28 poll.

Though he did not give details of how he proposed this, the former military officer also promised to leverage negotiations to ensure the lifting of global sanctions in a way which is "real and measurable," focusing on revitalizing oil sales, banking operations, and foreign trade.

”Given that we are under sanctions, priority should be given to small companies to lift the sanctions, as they provide us with good capacities," he said, as Iran continues to find ways to evade international sanctions. Iran has been sanctioned for its ongoing nuclear program, human rights abuses and support of Russia's war on Ukraine.

The upcoming elections follow the sudden death last month of President Ebrahim Raisi who was killed in a freak helicopter crash along with his delegation.