Iran’s Raisi attacks US during speech to Russian parliament
The Iranian president addressed Russian lawmakers on the second day of his visit to Moscow, a “landmark” trip at a critical juncture for the revival of the Iran nuclear deal.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi defended his country’s nuclear activities as legal and renewed strong criticism against the American sanctions regime that has battered the Iranian economy.
“We are not seeking a nuclear bomb, and it has no place in our defense strategy,” Raisi declared in a speech at Russia’s lower parliament Jan. 20, as he refenced a 2003 fatwa, or religious decree, issued by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in prohibition of atomic weapons.
While expressing readiness for “maximum engagement” with the world, Raisi vowed “not to back off” in his fight against the US, which “seeks to violate our nation’s rights.” The Iranian president announced his government is serious about reviving the 2015 nuclear deal, but only “if the other parties are also serious for a genuine and effective relief of sanctions.”
Raisi’s latest stance on Iran’s nuclear program was made as an eighth round of talks on resurrecting the accord was underway in Vienna with reported slow progress.
