Although Ebrahim Raisi made a mockery of the negotiations, he insisted nuclear technology could not be taken from them in any way. Iranian officials said on Sunday that they are “reviewing” the Biden administration’s latest proposals to revive former President Barack Obama’s 2015 nuclear deal. On Sunday, Hossein Amirabdollahian, Iranian foreign minister, said that Iran is seeking a “good, sustainable, and strong agreement.”
He said the American response to Iran’s latest draft amendments is being carefully studied. Washington’s response was forwarded to Tehran by EU officials last Wednesday. Iran dropped “some of its non-starter demands,” including a demand for President Joe Biden to reverse the previous administration’s designation of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization.
According to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Iran’s nuclear technology remains non-negotiable, which makes renegotiating the nuclear deal somewhat absurd.
When he spoke at the press conference, Raisi didn’t mention Iran’s concessions, instead rattling off a list of demands he expects the U.S. to meet — removing sanctions chief among them — and effectively requesting that the world accept Iranian denial that it wished to build nuclear weapons.
According to Raisi, throughout their nuclear doctrine, they have repeatedly stated that nuclear weapons have no place in Iran. It has been frequently announced by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution that such weapons are religiously prohibited. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is Iran’s Supreme Leader, issued a binding and eternal religious edict against the possession of nuclear weapons, Raisi said, in reference to the fact that these munitions have no place in “our foreign policy.”
Israel’s “Zionist regime is threatening Iran’s sacred right to nuclear technology,” Raisi sneered. He added, but this know-how has been indigenized in our country and can never be taken.
The Iranian regime has long oscillated between blaming all of its economic problems on U.S. sanctions restored after President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018 and insisting they were a mere trifle that did not affect Iran’s economy. According to Raisi, the sanctions have had little effect on Iran, but they must still be removed immediately.
Interactions with regional countries have increased by five times. Iran’s oil exports are at a point where Iran should continue to export oil and non-oil commodities, he said.
As far as sanctions removal is concerned, Iran did not leave the negotiation table. As part of the negotiations, the goal is to lift the sanctions, and it is the responsibility of those who abandoned their commitments to return and fulfill them. He said that the removal of sanctions is at the core of these negotiations.
In addition, the Iranian president asked the International Atomic Energy Agency to stop investigating uranium particles found at three unresolved Iranian nuclear sites. Under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NFT), Iran must explain the uranium traces, but it has stonewalled inspectors for years. A 35-nation IAEA Board of Governors overwhelmingly passed a resolution chastising Iran and demanding its cooperation “without delay” in June.
Raisi said an agreement would be meaningless without resolving safeguard concerns, Iran’s preferred term for its disagreement with the IAEA.
Raisi dismissed suggestions he met with Biden during his visit to the United Nations General Assembly in New York. According to Raisi, such a meeting with Biden will be of no benefit to Iran and the Iranian people.