IAEA probes on Iran could harm Tehran stance on JCPOA: Raisi

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Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Thursday remained steadfast in his stance on nuclear negotiations with foreign powers, saying he saw no benefit in a deal that would not end UN nuclear watchdog probes into uranium traces in the nation.

"How can we have a lasting agreement if these probes are not closed?" the Iranian President said at a news conference on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

Raisi noted on Wednesday that some countries consider Iran a threat due to its nuclear program, reiterating that "Iran is not seeking to build or obtain nuclear weapons and such weapons have no place in our doctrine."

He stressed that in 2015, Iran accepted the nuclear agreement but faced the US withdrawal from it. 

The US withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers back in May 2018 under Trump's presidential term, after which he revived sanctions on Iran as part of the “maximum pressure” campaign he launched against the country and which Biden continues to impose. His administration, however, has repeatedly admitted that the policy has been a mistake and a failure.

At the beginning of his presidential campaign, Biden voiced his intentions to bring the US back into the deal but there has been no sign of that, and the US has even imposed more sanctions on Iran, such as the latest concerning Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security and its Minister Esmail Khatib, after the US accused Tehran of being behind a cyberattack against NATO ally Albania, which Iran denied.

Oil market can be stabilized

The Iranian President at the UNGA called on gas and oil producers to cooperate and stabilize energy markets in light of the ongoing energy crisis all over the world.

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It is worth noting that the energy crisis in Europe was already going on prior to the imposition of a price cap on Russian gas and further worsened since. 

Raisi also stressed that he would continue supporting and expanding agreements with Russia as the whole world keeps trying to corner Moscow and sideline it using sanctions.

"The agreements are not only focused on the past few months or weeks, but there have also been ongoing relations with the Russian Federation for many many years, which has resulted in fruitful agreements in the economic, trade, aerospace technology as well as defense arena between the two countries, and these agreements are still in force, and we will continue to support them and expand them vigorously," he told a press briefing in New York.

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Iran and Russia have been warming up in relations, with reports in July revealing that Iran had become Russia's top customer in purchasing Russian wheat with 360,000 metric tonnes in deliveries according to data-intelligence company Kpler. 

The Iranian Finance Ministry's banking and insurance department said in August that Iran could join the Russian Mir payment system within months of when talks between Tehran and Moscow reach a conclusion - this, according to Qorban Eskandari, the department's head, could be in the very near future. 

'Chaos' unacceptable

The Iranian President underlined that his country supported freedom of expression, though he criticized the ongoing demonstrations that erupted following the death of an Iranian woman Mahsa Amini.

"Rights issues must be considered all around the world with a single standard," he affirmed.

"There is freedom of expression in Iran ... but acts of chaos are unacceptable," the Iranian President underlined.

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