Pezeshkian: No choice but to resolve FATF dispute
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the country has no choice but to resolve disputes surrounding the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the 2015 Iran nuclear deal to address Iranians’ economic woes and achieve the country’s long-term goals.
Pezeshkian made the remarks on Monday while fielding Iranian and foreign reporters’ questions during his first press conference since taking office late August.
Iran has for long been on the FATF’s blacklist for what the financial watchdog claims to be Iran’s not adhering to transparency and international conventions against money laundering and terrorism financing.
Pezeshkian said that he will certainly ask the country’s Expediency Council to reactivate the FATF case in a bid to remove sanctions on Iran and improve the people’s livelihood.
Ready for negotiations
He also said that Tehran is ready to negotiate with the West and remains committed to all international regulations, but will never bow to pressure.
“We are not in conflict with anyone,” the Iranian president stated.
He said that his administration will negotiate with the West on contentious issues and expand relations with neighboring countries to improve the economy and achieve long-term objectives.
However, he added that the United States first needs to prove it is prepared to negotiate in good faith and is committed to its international obligations. The president noted that the Americans have so far “closed all avenues to us.”
Pezeshkian emphasized that Iran is obligated to the agreements it signed with the US and Europe. “We do not seek atomic weapons, but they (the West) are threatening us and say Iran should not possess any missile.”
He was referring to the 2015 nuclear agreement that Iran signed with the US, France, the UK, China, Russia and Germany.
He said Iran will pursue every possible path leading to the removal of obstacles.
At the first step, the president said, Iran will create common views and language with its neighboring countries to establish a region full of peace and tranquility.
It is the foreign powers which are hindering the establishment of peace in the region by creating economic, cultural and ethnic conflicts, Pezeshkian said.
UNGA meeting
The Iranian president said his attendance at the 2024 meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York will be “to defend the rights of our people because we do favor peace and not war.”
Asked about the possibility of his meeting with the US president during his visit to the US to attend the UN General Assembly meeting, Pezeshkian said the US must prove its sincerity in practice. The Iranian president said Tehran should see whether or not Washington is committed to its obligations.
Iran could hold direct talks with the United States if Washington demonstrates “in practice” that it is not hostile to the Islamic Republic, President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday.
“We are not hostile towards the US, they should end their hostility towards us by showing their goodwill in practice.”
Iran’s military power
Referring to Iran’s military power, Pezeshkian said Iran has never started any war but needs defense power to ensure the safety of its people.
“We will not abandon our defense power unless we live in a world or region where everyone is disarmed”, he added.
Relations with China
Pezeshkian hailed Iran’s relations with China and said Tehran is determined to implement the 25-year partnership agreement with Beijing.
“We have very good relations with China and a large part of our relationship is with China, Russia and the neighboring countries.”
Iran and China signed the landmark 25-year partnership agreement in March 2021 in a bid to strengthen their long-standing economic and political alliance.
Pezeshkian said China took a “major step” in mediating between Iran and Saudi Arabia to resume mutual relations and creating coordination in the region.
Missile transfer to Russia
Pezeshkian also answered a question about accusations leveled by some Western countries against Iran on the delivery of ballistic missiles to Russia in September.
He said that his government had not transferred any weapons to Russia since it took office in August.
Yemen missiles
Pezeshkian also dismissed claims that Iran has provided Yemen with hypersonic missiles or the technology to manufacture the weaponry.
“It will take one week for a person to go to Yemen. How did the missile go there [to Yemen] and no one saw it? In Iran, we do not have the hypersonic missiles of the type used by Yemen’s Ansarullah against Israel.”
“We have the missile power but we do not give missiles to Yemen. Before the war [in Gaza], Yemen had acquired the technology to manufacture missiles and was producing them.”
Ties with Egypt,
Saudi Arabia
Asked about Iran’s policy on relations with Egypt, Pezeshkian said his administration will initiate contacts with senior Egyptian officials as soon as possible.
“We will welcome relations with the friendly and brotherly country of Egypt.”
He also reaffirmed the need to settle differences between Iran and Saudi Arabia and said he welcomes any measure which will bring the two Muslim countries closer together.
More than 300 journalists from both domestic and international media outlets participated in the Pezeshkian’s press conference, who won the run-off presidential vote on July 5 against former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili. He replaced Ebrahim Raisi who died in a helicopter crash in May.