Iran says won’t cave into US sanctions

After arriving in New York to attend the 78th United Nations General Assembly, the Iranian president held a meeting with a group of American media executives and editors on Monday.

In the meeting, the senior managers of NBC, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Newsweek, Politico, Reuters and NBC asked questions about the exchange of prisoners, the new approach of the Iranian government in the development of the neighborhood policy, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) negotiations and the lifting of sanctions, the normalization of the relations of some Arab countries with the Zionist regime, and the claim that Iran sold weapons to Russia in the Ukraine war.

At the beginning of the meeting, Raisi asked the present media to observe the requirements of professional media work in knowing and expressing the facts of Iranian society, the president’s official website reported.

Regarding the release of Iran’s blocked financial resources and the exchange of prisoners, the president described the exchange of prisoners between Iran and the US as a humanitarian act, stating that the blocked assets belong to the Iranian people and will be used to meet their needs and said, “Certainly, any step taken to fulfill the commitments will be a confidence builder for us.”

Regarding the JCPOA negotiations and the lifting of sanctions, Raisi stated that the repeated violation of commitments by the Americans has created an atmosphere of distrust in the negotiations, and referring to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s acknowledgment in its 15 quarterly reports that Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities have no deviation.

He stated, “During the nuclear agreement, the only party that fulfilled its commitments was the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the United States and European countries violated their commitments and did not fulfill their commitments.”

The president continued, “Now it is the Americans who should ask their government why, despite the implementation of commitments by Iran and the non-deviation of nuclear activities, the policy of pressure and sanctions against Iran continues?”

Raisi described the development and promotion of relations with neighboring countries as one of the central policies of his government and emphasized, “What caused some disruptions in the relations of regional countries was the intervention of outsiders, including the United States.”

“The presence of Americans in the region will not create security in any way, just as the normalization of relations with some Arab countries by the Zionist regime will not create security for this regime,” the Iranian president warned.

Raisi added that if the Americans are looking for a real solution to the Palestinian issue, after 70 years of occupation, infanticide and destruction by the Zionist regime, they should turn to democracy and leave the right to self-determination to the Palestinian people.

“Referring to the votes of the Palestinian people, including Muslims, Christians and Jews living in Palestine to determine the future of this country, which was first proposed by the wise Leader of the Islamic Revolution, will definitely end the occupation and oppression of the Palestinian people.”

He also mentioned the issue of last year’s riots in Iran and said, “What you should know is that America and some western countries miscalculated that if they manage a part of the riots in Iran, they will achieve their goals, unaware that the Iranian nation did not go along with the rioters and disturbers of the order and security of the country, and this conspiracy of America and some European countries failed and another victory was registered in the name of the Iranian nation.”

Referring to the failure of the policy of maximum pressure and sanctions against Iran, the president stated, “My suggestion to you, American media managers, is to ask your officials to reconsider the imposition of sanctions against the Iranian nation, because the nation Iran is determined to overcome its problems and will not give in to sanctions.”

Raisi called issues such as hijab, human rights and Iran’s nuclear activities cited by the US and the West as mere excuses to attack the Islamic Republic of Iran as an independent country and said, “Last year, more than a thousand Americans were killed by the police forces of this country, and in recent days, a pregnant woman was killed by the American police just because of the suspicion of robbery. Why is the American media silent about these crimes?”

“Why are the years of assault on the rights of people of color, the banning of girls wearing hijab from studying in France, the existence of hundreds of nuclear warheads in the arsenals of the Zionist regime, and 20 years of killing and destruction by the US in Afghanistan under the title of human rights, not questioned by the American media?” he asked.

Referring to the repeated accusations against Iran regarding the sale of arms to Russia in the Ukraine war, Raisi clarified that despite Iran’s declaration of readiness to accept convincing documents in this regard, no documents have been presented by the Ukrainians.

“Iran’s relations with Russia in various political, economic and defense fields started years before the Ukraine war, and any interaction and exchange between the two countries in the field of defense is also related to before the Ukraine war.”

Emphasizing the readiness of the Islamic Republic of Iran to mediate between Ukraine and Russia and end this war, the president stressed, “Instead of fanning the flames of this war to sell more weapons, the Americans should try to end it.”

He considered truth-seeking and stating the facts as essential for the professional work of the media and added, “During the disturbances of last year in Iran, more than 136 thousand lies were produced in the media against Iran within 48 weeks, which cannot be justified by any standard.”