Ibrahim Raisi: We Will Not Back Down from Supreme Leader’s Red Lines in Nuclear Talks

Iran’s president says the country will not retreat from “red lines” set by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in nuclear negotiations.

Ibrahim Raisi on Tuesday, March 8 also emphasized the government’s “serious” pursuit of “neutralizing” sanctions.

Iran’s insistence on not backing down from its positions comes as Enrique Mora, the European Union coordinator, announced on Monday that no more “expert-level” talks and “formal meetings” will be held, and that now is the time for political decisions and ending JCPOA negotiations “within the coming days.”

Iran seeks the removal of all nuclear, human rights, terrorism, and missile sanctions and says the United States must guarantee it will not withdraw from the JCPOA in the future. Washington officials have repeatedly stated that the Biden administration does not have the authority to provide such guarantees on behalf of future governments and will only lift nuclear sanctions against Iran.

Meanwhile, Russia imposed new conditions on JCPOA talks on Friday, linking sanctions against Russia to the nuclear agreement.

Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s representative in JCPOA talks, also claimed on Monday that “Iran has gained much more from nuclear negotiations than expected.”

Reuters reported, citing diplomats, that several issues still remain in nuclear talks, and Russia’s new conditions have also added to the problems at the last minute.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps on Tuesday conducted a controversial satellite launch missile test and said that “the three-stage Qased satellite carrier placed the Noor-2 satellite in a 500-kilometer orbit around Earth.”

The Guards had also unveiled two missile and drone bases on March 5, coinciding with the visit of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Director General to Tehran to discuss Iran’s nuclear activities.

Ulyanov announced on Tuesday in a tweet that the IAEA Board of Governors meeting on Iran’s nuclear program is currently underway.

Iran has suspended the IAEA’s access to information from cameras installed at nuclear sites and reduced cooperation with the international body, while still not providing any explanation about the origin of uranium at its undeclared sites and says the IAEA “must close the file on this matter.”

Following IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi’s recent visit to Tehran, Iran’s government and he announced on March 5 by issuing a statement that Iran should provide “written explanations” about three locations suspected of undisclosed nuclear activities “no later than March 20.”

Iran also says it will only allow IAEA access to camera information after a JCPOA agreement is reached.

Source: Radio Farda