Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on Wednesday hailed the country's successive accessions to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and BRICS as "very good achievement" accomplished over a short period of time.

He made the remarks in a meeting with the members of the Iranian government, including President Ebrahim Raisi and cabinet ministers, in Iran's capital Tehran, while commenting on the government's achievements in different sectors, such as the field of foreign policy, according to a statement on the leader's website.

On August 24, Iran, along with Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, was officially invited to join BRICS, a group of emerging economies membered by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

In early July, Iran became a full member of the SCO at the organization's 23rd meeting of the Council of Heads of State.

Khamenei underlined the necessity to seize the opportunities to communicate and expand relations with different countries.

It is wrong to think that interaction with the rest of the world is about having warm and cordial relations with a number of Western states, the Iranian leader said, adding communication with the rest of the world today is about developing relations with states in Africa, South America and Asia that possess huge natural and human resources and wealth.

He praised the incumbent government administration's foreign policy of expanding relations with Iran's neighbors and improving ties with governments that are willing to cooperate with Iran.

Khamenei urged the implementation of several long-term cooperation documents signed between the Iranian government and a number of countries over the past two years.

He also called for efforts to "neutralize" sanctions against Iran while carrying out negotiations to lift them.

(Cover: File photo of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei. /CFP)