Raisi: Reaching agreement before closing Iran’s file at IAEA impossible
President Ebrahim Raisi said in a meeting with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday that reaching a nuclear agreement before closing Iran’s file at the UN atomic agency is not possible, and called on the EU to prove its independence from the US.
The president of the Islamic Republic of Iran emphasized in his meeting with President Macron that Iran is ready for reaching a justice-based and sustainable agreement the two prerequisites of which are trustworthy guarantees and closing Iran’s files at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“The level of Iran-France cooperation and relations can be improved, while Europe needs to prove in practice that its policies are made independently from the US demands and policies," said the Iranian president.
Raisi referred to the US unilateral exit from the JCPOA and that country's violation of its commitments, while the Europeans, too, refrained from acting in accordance with their commitments after the US exit, and Iran had thus no benefits from remaining committed to the agreement all alone.
“Despite the US unilateral exit and the losses inflicted against Iran due to it, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s demand for trustworthy guarantees is quite logical and rational,” he said.
The Iranian president said that keeping open Iran’s files at the IAEA, too, is a serious obstacle in the way of reaching an agreement, adding, “The agency’s approach must be merely technical and free from the others’ pressure and influence, and we believe reaching an agreement before closing Iran’s files at the agency is impossible.”
Raisi also criticized the EU trio for requesting the IAEA Board of Governors to issue an anti-Iran resolution while simultaneously withholding nuclear negotiations with Iran, arguing that such unconstructive moves lead to further complications of the issues.
He said that the agency relying on its continuous and numerous inspections and supervision 15 times officially confirmed that the Iranian nuclear activities are merely peaceful and devoid of any deviation toward military purposes.
President Raisi said that the IAEA’s approach is double-sided, as it never refers to the destructive nuclear activities of the Zionist regime, which is due to its political inclinations.
The president of the Islamic Republic of Iran also referred to the peaceful activities of Iran in the region, including Iran’s anti-terrorism approach, which made Europe safe for the Europeans.
“You are today holding presidential elections in France at peace, and this is thanks to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s anti-terrorism campaign in the Middle East region,” he added.
President Macron, for his part, presented some proposals about the ongoing nuclear negotiations, confirming that under such conditions that the agency had confirmed Iran's full commitment to its obligation, the United States' unilateral exit from the JCPOA in the year 2018 made the Europeans unable to remain faithful to their commitments and thus Iran had no economic benefits from the JCPOA.
The French president also said that in order to achieve progress in the nuclear negotiations Iran and the IAEA need to resolve the existing files, and the Europeans will impose no political pressure against the agency in that respect.
President Macron also invited President Raisi to visit France, where he said the two counties can in face-to-face meetings increase their economic and regional cooperation.