“In Iran, the president is elected by the people and so we appeal to all Iranians to go vote. The results will be announced on June 29. In Iran, in case of unnatural death of a president during his term, presidential elections are held within 50 days. We are optimistic that Iranians living in India will go to vote,” Elahi added.
Meanwhile, Iran is the newest member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and is looking forward to taking part in the summit in Astana.
“India’s role and position in both SCO and BRICS is important. It is up to India to decide who it sends to the summits. Today, India, Russia and China are emerging as global powers and will pave the way for a new international order. The world is in a crisis situation with conflicts intensifying and economies suffering,” he added.
The ambassador also spoke about the importance of trade in local currency and said India and Iran have traded in local currency in the past and it is likely to resume once some technical issues are resolved.
“There are two options in the world today – either accept the sanctions as they are or look for alternatives. These alternatives include trade in local currency. Economy is the driver of change and sanctions have impacted Iran and Russia,” the ambassador said, adding that India has always supported Iran, including in its BRICS membership.
Iran has lifted visa restrictions for Indians to facilitate people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. However, India, which had launched an e-visa program for Iranians, suspended it following the spread of COVID-19. Iran hopes that the e-visa program for travel to India will be resumed.
“Indian students are increasingly choosing Iran to continue their medical studies. To enable more students to travel, there is a need to increase air connectivity between the two countries. Currently, there are three direct flights between India and Tehran. Though they are wide-body aircraft, there is scope to increase services between the two countries, which have historical and cultural ties,” Elahi added.
