The presence of Americans in the Persian Gulf and the tampering with ships and their seizure causes insecurity in the region, said the Iranian President.
Raeisi, who has travelled to New York to participate in the 78th United Nations General Assembly, met and discussed with a group of American foreign policy intellectuals on Monday evening local time.
Speaking about the nuclear agreement and the prospect of Iran-US relations, Raeisi cited the record of the US government’s violation of the JCPOA despite the full implementation of obligations by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
“With the change of the government in the US and the declaration of readiness to return to its commitments, the Islamic Republic of Iran announced its readiness and pursued negotiations seriously for a good agreement, but after some time it became clear that the opposite parties did not adhere to their commitments,” he said.
Referring to the miscalculation of the Americans in the [last year’s] riots, the President said, “The American government, due to the wrong advice of some seemingly Iranian mercenary elements, as well as the wrong estimates of the spy services, abandoned the negotiations and set its heart on the results of the riots, while the Islamic Republic of Iran is now a strong tree and these impulses have no effect on its stability.”
Raeisi considered the victory of the Iranian nation against the combined war as a continuation of the national victories against all kinds of past enmities, such as the victory in the Holy Defence [refers to the era of the imposed war by ex-Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein on Iran (1980–88)] and overcoming the cruel sanctions, adding, “The ill-wishers of the Iranian nation sought to repeat the Syrian model in Iran, but they were wrong because they have still not known the people of Iran and the Islamic revolution.”
Referring to the renewed desire of the United States to resume negotiations after the failure of the unrest project, the President noted, “Negotiations were conducted by some countries, and the recent exchange of prisoners was one of its effects.”
Speaking about Trump’s crime in the assassination of Martyr Soleimani, President Raeisi called that brave general the commander of the fight against terrorism in the region and his assassination an assassination of the fight against terrorism.
“Martyr Soleimani was the commander of the fight against terrorism and ISIS, and if he hadn’t stopped ISIS, terrorism would be spreading all over Europe”.
The President called the assassination of Martyr Soleimani an example of state terrorism and stressed the trial of the perpetrators of this horrible crime.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Raeisi emphasized the security of international waterways and said, “The presence of Americans in the Persian Gulf and the tampering with ships and their seizure causes insecurity in the region.”
He also spoke about the effects of Iran’s joining BRICS, by listing the prominent role of the member countries in the economy and gross production in the world, saying, “Considering Iran’s outstanding capacities and position in the region, Iran’s joining this group will make it more powerful.”
“Regarding sanctions, Biden said at the beginning of his career that he does not accept Trump’s method of withdrawing from the JCPOA. So far, we have not seen any different action in practice. The expectation is that if the US government says it adheres to its commitments in words, it will show its adherence in practice,” he noted.
Raeisi considered the International Atomic Energy Agency’s declaration that Iran’s nuclear activities are peaceful as a clear reason for the cruelty of the sanctions against Iran and said, “The Islamic Republic of Iran, before any law, regulations and supervision, according to the fatwa of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, considers any production and use of nuclear weapons prohibited.”
Speaking about the status of women in Iran, the President, by listing the successes of women in various scientific and sports fields as well as their effective and role-playing presence in the political, managerial and social sectors, said that the West’s abuse of last year’s events was a deceptive cover to defend the rights of women.
“In the incident last year when a girl had an accident, all medical investigations showed that she was not hit by the police, but did the Western and American media agree to reflect this fact?”
Raeisi stated that the highest number of female prisoners in the world belongs to the United States, adding, “Recently in the United States, a young pregnant woman was killed by the American police on suspicion of stealing from a store, which is one of the 1,200 cases that occurred last year. He was killed by the American police, but why does the American media not search for the root cause and clarify the details of such murders?”
He also spoke about the war in Ukraine, saying, “We are against the war and we are ready to mediate in order to end it, but the taxes of the American people pay for war-mongering and to fill the pockets of arms factories from the sale of weapons in this field.”
Raeisi found the claim of Iran’s provision of weapons to Russia to be devoid of truth and added, “Our advice to the American government is to stop fighting and sanction nations. Historical findings show that in the last 250 years, America has not been at war for only 20 years.”
The President elsewhere stressed that the Islamic Republic has never left the negotiation table because it has clear and firm logic for its approaches and actions, and said, “Iran’s released resources in South Korea were Iran’s right and America must answer why it cruelly stopped the right of our nation.”
The President stated, “America must have understood by now that using the language of force, either in the form of sanctions or threats against the Iranian nation, is not an effective tool, of course, our judgment will be based on actions and what can gain our trust will be changing this coercive behaviour and acting based on commitments, which America has not been successful in this field so far.”
