Iran Press/Iran News: Speaking at the formal opening ceremony of the new academic year at the University of Tehran on Wednesday morning, president Hassan Rouhani asked whether the country's progress and future are dependent upon engagement with the world or confrontation with the enemies, and said: "We may say that the answer to this question is easy and we can interact wherever we can, and we confront where necessary, but this is a fundamental strategic issue."
Rouhani went on to say that during the past 41 years, we have not reached a clear and decisive answer to this question. Some say that constructive engagement must take place, and others say we must move towards the path of permanent confrontation, Iran Press reported.
He said, "Some people say that there is no way to solve problems with the world, except for exposing our power and we must break the other side. Our enemy is so vicious that we have to break up and confront him because this is a fight, we have to hit, kill and be killed. Some say this is not right."
Rouhani pointed out: "What is the whole political debate about? Some argue that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is a good agreement and others argue it is bad agreement; some say the JCPOA has worked for us and others says it has been useless. It should be said that the tension is not about JCPOA, because it is not the subject of arguments, but the tension is about the bigger and more serious question."
He said when the enemy's drone intruded into Iranian airspace, a warning was issued, but the drone kept coming, and in this situation, we had to shoot missiles and constructive interaction in such situations is useless, but in general, we have to opt for engagement and constructive interaction with the world." 101/211/201
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