Good Deal Attainable, Onus on US: Iran’s President

Raisi on Wednesday attended a press conference at the conclusion of his trip to New York for participation in the 78th annual meeting of the UN General Assembly.

Asked about the release of Iran's foreign resources, Raisi said, "Countries like Oman and Qatar had effective follow-ups in this field, which we should thank them for helping to lift the cruel ban on Iran's foreign exchange resources in South Korea. Of course, this action could have been done sooner so that the Iranian people can access the money that belongs to them."

Asked about the achievements of Iran, regarding the positive trend of developments in this field, the president stated, "Iran insists that the United States and European countries return to their agreement with Iran and fulfill their commitments."

"The Islamic Republic of Iran never left the negotiation table, but unfortunately, some Western countries and the United States left the negotiation table due to miscalculations and being interested in unrest in Iran, and after a while, when they saw the Iranian people failing their goals, they again requested to return to the table. The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran will never neglect the rights of the Iranian nation in this regard and is waiting for the practical action of its parties in the JCPOA," the president added, his official website reported.

In response to a question from Japan's Kyodo news agency, Raisi stated, "Mr. Prime Minister invited me to visit Japan during this meeting, to which I replied that this trip will be done at the appropriate time. He also promised to follow up on the issue of Iran's foreign exchange resources in Japan."

Asked by TASS about his assessment of the relations between Iran and Russia, Raisi said, "Military, economic, political, technological and scientific cooperation between the two countries has been and will be maintained for a long time. The visits of the defense officials of the two countries are also defined in line with the relations to expand bilateral cooperation."

On the conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh, the Iranian president said, "The Islamic Republic of Iran has repeatedly stated that tension and conflict are not the way to solve the problems of the region, and these tensions can be resolved through the mediation of powerful countries such as Iran in the neighboring countries to the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia."

Asked about the developments in Iran-Egypt relations, Raisi said, "In order to strengthen relations with neighboring, Muslim, and aligned countries, the Islamic Republic of Iran will extend its hand to any country that wants to cooperate with us."

"The Islamic Republic of Iran does not see any obstacle in establishing relations with Egypt, and this issue has been announced to the Egyptian side as well. Today's meeting of the foreign ministers of the two countries can also be a chapter to start and revive relations between the two countries. In order to strengthen relations with neighboring, Muslim and Muslim countries, we will warmly shake the hand of any country that wants to cooperate with us," he underlined.

Asked about the restoration of Iran-Saudi Arabia relations and the Zionist regime's efforts to normalize relations with regional countries, Raisi said, "Iran-Saudi Arabia relations have been re-established and we intend to develop these relations."

“So far, we have not heard any news about the establishment of a relationship between the Zionist regime and Saudi Arabia… On the one hand, we believe that the issue of Palestine's freedom is always the first issue of the Islamic world, and therefore establishing a relationship with the Zionist regime is considered a dagger in the back of the Palestinian people and resistance,” he stated.

In response to a question about concerns over the relations between some military and paramilitary groups in the region with Iran, Raisi clarified, "It is the right of the people of any country to protect their territorial integrity and homeland. This is also the reason for the formation of groups like Hezbollah of Lebanon and Hashd al-Shaabi, and this should not be a cause for concern to anyone, unless some countries like the United States or some European governments want to insinuate it."

Asked about how willing Iran is to slow down its uranium enrichment, the president noted, "The nuclear program is completely peaceful and international observers have always confirmed this issue. The fact that Iran at some point increased the speed of its enrichment was due to the fact that the parties to the agreement with Iran did not fulfill their obligations. In addition, the announcement of enrichment with high percentages in Iran is fundamentally incorrect. Iran wants the parties to the agreement to return to the practical implementation of their obligations."

Asked by AP about the recent issues related to a number of inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the president said, "The Islamic Republic of Iran has no problem with the principle of inspection, unless the performance of some inspectors causes Iran to lose confidence in them."

On his talks with the president of Russia about the war in Ukraine, Raisi stated, "In the last conversation I had with Mr. Putin, he emphasized that it is NATO that wants to continue the war and does not want this war to end."

Asked about the arrest of some foreign nationals in Iran and the Islamic Republic's efforts to bring justice to the killers of General Qassem Soleimani, President Raisi stated, "After the outbreak of the Coronavirus subsided, eight million tourists have visited Iran and no one is arrested for visiting Iran unless they commit a crime."

"It is natural that if someone commits a crime in another country, the judicial system of that country will deal with them. The people who have been arrested in Iran have also confessed to committing a crime in the process of judicial proceedings, and calling them hostages, which was done by some Western countries, is not correct in any way," he added.

Raisi also pointed to plans to prosecute the perpetrators of the assassination of General Soleimani, adding, "Nowhere in the world will they pass by the person who ordered the murder. Pursuing the execution of justice about the commanders of the martyrdom of Gen. Soleimani is the desire of his family, the people of Iran and all freedom fighters in the world who were familiar with his efforts. Turning a blind eye to this criminal act is a betrayal of humanity and a platform for state terrorism."

Asked by CNN if Iran's recent interaction with the US will continue over the exchange of prisoners, Raisi said, "If the Americans are ready to fulfill their commitments, the ground will be provided for the progress of interactions and reaching a good agreement."

At the end of the press conference, Raisi urged all the media members to reflect the news from reliable and honest sources and stated, "Last year, thousands of false news were published about the events that happened in Iran. We do not shy away from the presence of foreign journalists inside Iran, but we value their presence so that they can directly reflect the news and events of Iran."