Iran advocates peace
The Iranian president, who is on a three-day visit to the United States to participate in the 78th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), has taken the opportunity at the UN to hold meetings with the heads of states and media outlets.
During his meeting with the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Raeisi said people expect the UN to avert excessive demands and warmongering by world powers and the domination system, warning that such dangerous procedures disrupt global peace and stability.
Raeisi said that cooperation with the UN is the Islamic Republic’s principle, stressing that the country stands ready to contribute to the expansion of peace and security across the world and the prevention of oppression against nations.
He said the world body is tasked to pay attention to calls by nations for the exercise of justice, as well as the establishment of sustainable security, and the elimination of discrimination and poverty.
The Iranian chief executive further highlighted concerns about the political and social future of Afghanistan, Yemen, and Syria, as well as separatism in Africa, saying the UN has an important mission to prevent oppression against the people of these countries.
Guterres, for his part, voiced his keenness to develop cooperation between the United Nations and Iran.
He further welcomed positive steps in relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, saying the two countries can influence regional stability.
Praising Iran’s constructive role regarding developments in Yemen, Guterres also emphasized the UN support for Tehran’s initiatives to end the crisis gripping the impoverished state.
Meanwhile, the Iranian president asked the UN chief to follow the news on Iran directly, and through the correct channels, as the Western media do not present a true image of the country.
The Iranian president also held a meeting with senior American media managers and answered their questions.
He told media outlets that a recent Qatar-mediated prisoner swap that took place between Iran and the US was carried out purely on humanitarian grounds.
“Definitely, any step that is taken [by the United States] to fulfill their commitments would be confidence-building for us,” Raeisi said.
Raeisi told NBC that the released funds, which, he said, had been cruelly blocked and are now in possession of Iran, belong to the Iranian people and would be used to meet their needs.
After two years of high-stakes negotiations, Iran and the US agreed to free prisoners as part of a deal that also included the release of about $6 billion of Iranian assets illegally frozen in South Korea.
On Monday, Iran and the US freed 10 prisoners – five in Iran for five in the US – after the US government unblocked the nearly $6 billion in frozen Iranian oil funds held in South Korea.
Foreign intervention in region
Elsewhere in his remarks, Raeisi described the promotion of relations with Iran’s neighbors as one of his administration’s pivotal policies, stressing that “the main reason behind some problems in the regional countries’ relations has been foreign intervention, especially by the United States.”
The Iranian president also pointed to the failure of the so-called US maximum pressure policy and sanctions against Tehran, suggesting that American media managers urge their officials to reconsider the policy of imposing sanctions against the Iranian nation, because “Iranians are determined to overcome problems and will never yield to sanctions.”
He noted that the US and the West raise issues such as the hijab, human rights and Iran’s nuclear activities only as an excuse to harm the Islamic Republic as an independent country.
He slammed US media silence on the killing of more than 1,000 American people by the country’s police in 2022 and a recent fatal shooting of a pregnant Black woman by US police in the state of Ohio earlier this month.
US bullying tactics
Raeisi also said the US policy of implementing bullying tactics against Iran in the form of imposing sanctions on the country will fail to produce any results.
“Using the bullying language in the form of sanctions and threats against the Iranian nation is not a useful instrument, one should speak rationally,” Raeisi said on Tuesday during a meeting in New York with representatives of US think tanks.
Elaborating on his remarks, Raeisi said an example of Washington’s insistence on using bullying tactics against Iran was its decision to freeze billions of dollars’ worth of Iranian funds in South Korea for several years.
Raeisi said Iran will continue to judge the US based on its practical steps, not its rhetoric.
“Up to now, US behavior has failed to win the Islamic Republic’s trust,” he said, adding that what can make Iran trust the US is a change in the US’s bullying behavior and its respect for commitments made under international deals.
President Raeisi also held talks with heads of state of Algeria, Kyrgyzstan, Croatia and Kazakhstan.
Iran’s achievements
During a meeting with his Croatian counterpart Zoran Milanovic, Raeisi said the era of the West’s dominance over independent nations is “over,” stressing that Tehran has managed to thwart sanctions imposed by Western countries.
“Despite efforts made by some Western countries to impose their interests and values on other countries in the world, the Islamic Republic of Iran has managed to turn sanctions and pressures into opportunities and has made significant progress in different fields, particularly the field of technology,” he said.
Elsewhere in his remarks, he said that Iran has made significant achievements in the fields of agriculture, industry, and medicine thanks to its peaceful nuclear program, noting that “we managed to treat one million patients with radiopharmaceuticals last year.”
“Why do the US and European countries that own nuclear arsenals prevent other countries from benefiting from nuclear energy,” he added.
Economic ties with Kazakhstan
Also on Monday, Raeisi met Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev during which they called for accelerating the full implementation of bilateral agreements, including economic and trade deals.
Raeisi said the fact that the two countries are Caspian neighbors and members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) paves the way for expanding bilateral ties.
He noted that enhanced trade ties between the two countries by sea or rail “serve the interests of the two nations as well as the regional countries,” adding that “effective steps must be taken” to accelerate the attainment of the goal.
For his part, Tokayev, who visited Tehran in June at the invitation of President Raeisi, stressed that Iran is a strategic partner and close friend of Kazakhstan.
The two sides oversaw the signing of several cooperation documents on transport, energy, tourism, and other fields.
Palestinian issue
President Raeisi also met with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, expressing appreciation for the African country’s support for the oppressed people of Palestine and its firm position on denying an observer status to Israel in the African Union. Raeisi said Iran has no problem in expanding relations with neighboring countries, stating that the interference of Western countries, especially the US, is the cause of disruption in relations between regional countries.
Tebboune touched on the history of good relations between the two countries and emphasized the need for serious efforts to revive and improve relations between Iran and Algeria.
He said he is familiar with the political, economic, scientific and research capabilities of the Islamic Republic. “We know that sanctions have made Iran a powerful country and we are ready to expand our relations with Iran,” he said.
The Algerian president emphasized his country’s support for the rights of the Palestinian people to create an independent state, saying that the reinforcement of relations between Islamic countries in the region has increased their strength to deal with threats.
Raeisi also hailed Milanovic’s announcement that his country is adopting an independent policy and expressed Iran’s interest in expanding political, economic, and trade ties with Croatia.
Milanovic, for his part, said Croatia has always tried to adopt independent policies, despite being a member of the US-led NATO military alliance and the European Union.