TEHRAN -- Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi said Sunday his administration will not give up on the nation’s rights in any negotiations, in a clear allusion to the ongoing talks on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
“We will not back down on the nation’s rights at any meeting and negotiation,” Raeisi said in a speech to a conference on World Mosque Day.
He said the Iranian administration “will not tie people’s livelihood to any external factor and will persevere in its effort to solve the problems facing the country and people.”
Raisi added that his administration has achieved many of its goals through “the dignified approach” it has adopted.
Raisi’s comments come amid intense speculation about the fate of the JCPOA after Iran on August 15 provided the European Union’s coordinator in the JCPOA talks with its final conclusion on the bloc’s proposed draft for revival of the deal, emphasizing that it was now the U.S.’ turn to show realism and flexibility, if it really wanted a final agreement to be reached.
On Tuesday, the EU confirmed that it had received Iran’s response, saying the bloc was studying the reply with the parties to the deal and the United States.
Iran and the remaining parties to the JCPOA -- Russia, China, France, Britain, and Germany -- started talks in the Austrian capital of Vienna in April last year. While the parties noted progress in multiple rounds of talks, the indecisiveness shown by Washington has prevented any significant breakthrough.
Former U.S. president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the JCPOA in 2018 and reinstated the sanctions that the deal had lifted and added new ones.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Raisi said the Iranian nation’s presence in various arenas is “the most important component of the Islamic Republic’s power.”
He added that Iran’s power relies on each and every one of its people