Iran’s rethink

WHEN I campaigned to become President of Iran, I promised to balance realism and the pursuit of the Islamic Republic’s ideals — and won Iranian voters’ support by a large margin.

By virtue of the popular mandate that I received, I am committed to moderation and common sense, which is now guiding all of my government’s policies. That commitment led directly to the interim international agreement reached in November in Geneva on Iran’s nuclear programme. It will continue to guide our decision making in 2014.

Indeed, in terms of foreign policy, my government is discarding extreme approaches. We seek effective and constructive diplomatic relations and a focus on mutual confidence ­building with our neighbours and other regional and international actors, thereby enabling us to orient our foreign policy toward economic development at home.