Raisi backs nuke talks, but firm on US

TEHERAN/WASHINGTON－Iranian President-elect Ebrahim Raisi has backed talks between Iran and six world powers to revive a 2015 nuclear deal, but rejected meeting US President Joe Biden, even if Washington removed all sanctions.

In his first news conference since winning the presidential election on Friday, Raisi said on Monday that his foreign policy priority would be improving ties with Iran's Gulf Arab neighbors, while calling on Saudi Arabia to halt its intervention in Yemen.

Raisi, 60, a critic of the West, will take over from Hassan Rouhani on Aug 3 as Iran seeks to salvage the nuclear deal and be rid of punishing US sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy.

"We support the negotiations that guarantee our national interests. … America should immediately return to the deal and fulfill its obligations under the deal," said Raisi, who himself is under sanctions by the United States.

Negotiations have been under way in Vienna since April to work out how Iran and the United States can both return to compliance with the nuclear pact, which Washington abandoned in 2018 under then-president Donald Trump before reimposing sanctions on Iran.

Teheran has long denied having any ambitions of developing nuclear weapons.

Foreign policy

Raisi said Iran's foreign policy would not be limited to the nuclear deal, adding that "all US sanctions must be lifted and verified by Teheran".

Asked if he would meet Biden if those sanctions were lifted, Raisi answered: "No."

The White House downplayed Raisi's influence, saying no meeting between Biden and Raisi was planned, adding that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has the final say on all major policies.

"We don't currently have any diplomatic relations with Iran or any plans to meet at the leader level," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters. "Our view is that the decision maker here is the supreme leader."

In the public comments on Monday, Raisi also brushed aside US calls for Iran to agree to follow-on discussions on expanding the initial nuclear deal to include its ballistic missile program and its support for some regional groups. "It's nonnegotiable," he said.

A Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen's civil war in 2015 after Iran-backed Houthi forces drove its government out of the capital Sanaa. The conflict has been largely stalemated for several years.

"They (the US) did not comply with the previous agreement. How do they want to enter into new discussions?" Raisi said.

Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and Shiite Iran, which severed ties in 2016, began direct talks in Iraq in April aimed at containing tensions. "The reopening of the Saudi Embassy is not a problem for Iran," said Raisi.

On Tuesday, Iran accused the US of interference for saying its election was neither free nor fair as political factions traded blame for the record－low turnout and high number of invalid ballots.

"We consider this statement as interference in our domestic affairs, contrary to international law and reject it," Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei was quoted by state media as saying. Washington did not have the authority to express views on elections in other countries, he said.

Agencies - Xinhua