Speaking on Tuesday in a press conference with the media on the occasion of the Government’s Week, President Ebrahim Raisi appreciated all the media members who always support the government in informing and reflecting news, and helped the government with fair criticism and created a two-way communication between the people and the government.
Referring to the special situation of the country at the beginning of the 13th Administration, the President said, “The spread of coronavirus, the decrease in the stock of basic goods and many other problems had created doubts for many as to how the government wants to manage this situation and move the country forward”.
President Raisi stated that we started work in the Popular Administration with trust in God, trust in internal resources and relying on the participation and capabilities of the people and the young and efficient forces of the country, adding, “Many people did not believe that the government could manage the country’s situation, but with the change of discourse that took place in this government based on returning to the people and being with the people and relying on internal capacities, with the participation of the people, we were able to improve the situation in a short time”.
Referring to some statistics, including the reduction of production inflation from 103% to 30%, the growth rate of production machinery to 19%, the growth rate of production to 6%, and the reduction of the unemployment rate, which was a concern of many, to 8.2%, he stated, “In the last 2 years, the number of closed and semi-closed manufacturing and industrial units has reached 5,000 and this means that production and employment have been activated in the country”.
Stating that we have broken records in the expansion of regional trade relations, the President added, “The development of bilateral and regional relations as well as cooperation with regional organisations such as Eurasia, Shanghai and recently also BRICS showed that Islamic Iran has significant capacities and position and the enemy’s strategy to isolate Iran has not succeeded”.
In describing the results of the enemy’s strategy of disappointing the people inside the country, President Raisi also stated, “The enemy tried to anger the people and create problems for the country with a massive cyber attack and disabling gas stations in the very days of the beginning of the Popular Administration, but it failed with the immediate action of the government and the vigilance and exemplary support of the people”.
The President clarified, “When the enemy saw the people’s cooperation with the government and the government’s reliance on internal capacities and the belief that “we can” and felt that the country was progressing, it tried to stop the growth process of Islamic Iran by creating disturbances, so even left the negotiation table in order to reach its goals through the path of creating disturbances”.
President Raisi added, “When the enemy saw that the riots failed with the help and presence of people on the scene, which we have witnessed in all fields, they immediately sent us a message that they want to return to the negotiation table”.
The President stated, “The enemy failed to advance both of his strategies and today, with the effort in the country, hope is increasing day by day in the hearts of the people”.
The President clarified, “The western parties who left the negotiation table regret today and are sending a message to return to the negotiation table. At the same time, along with this case, we have followed many other cases, including membership in regional and extra-regional coalitions”.
Referring to the important role played by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, especially in economic and security issues, the President stated, “Considering the very high capacity of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the connection with the infrastructure of the member countries of Shanghai and the Asian continent is very important for us”.
Stating that some people say that the solution to the problems depends on the smile of the Westerners, but we will never wait for their smile, President Raisi stated, “Coalitions such as BRICS and Shanghai are a great opportunity to flourish the country’s economic capacities and also confront the unilateralism of the West”.
Raising the issue that many heads of foreign countries are asking us, how are you progressing despite sanctions and threats! he continued, “The art of the Iranian nation is to turn threats into opportunities, and it has done this very well so far”.
President Raisi clarified, “Enemies think that our nation will stop with sanctions and threats, unaware that the Iranian nation is striving for success and this is the secret of the country’s success”.
In response to a reporter’s question regarding the revival of the JCPOA, President Raisi said, “The government has followed the JCPOA as a case in the field of foreign policy from the beginning, but our foreign policy issue is not a single option like in the past”.
The head of the Supreme National Security Council stated, “From the beginning of the Popular Administration’s term of office, following the actions that had already been taken, we appointed a group to follow the work and conduct serious negotiations on a text that the Europeans also officially accepted and said that Iran’s demands were accurate”.
“Our negotiations were in line with the original agreement, because we did not have a contract at that time, but if we had, this agreement would have been more detailed, and these problems would not have arisen until today,” he said.
President Raisi pointed out, “It was America and Europe that did not fulfil their obligations, but Iran fully adhered to its obligations. The International Atomic Energy Agency has declared 15 times that Iran’s nuclear program is not deviant, but Western countries want to use the nuclear issue politically to put pressure on an independent country like Iran”.
The President added, “The government has not failed in the negotiations and plan of the nation’s rights to realize the rights and remove the oppressive sanctions, and we are also active on the other front, which is to neutralize the sanctions”.
In response another question, President Raisi stated, “Today, the situation of the resistance movement in Lebanon, Syria and Palestine is completely different from the past. This difference can also be seen by looking at the state of the 6-day war of the Zionist regime with 6 Arab countries to the wars that were fought with the forces of resistance, which have become known as the 33-day, 22-day, 8-day and 2-day wars”.
The President stated that today the initiative in the region is in the hands of the Palestinian and Lebanese warriors, and noted, “Today the resistance movement is stronger than ever and the Zionist regime is more vulnerable than ever”.
In response to the last question raised in this press conference about the insults to the Quran, President Raisi said, “The Holy Quran is not only respected by 2 billion Muslims, but also respected by all believers of all Abrahamic religions”.
The President stated, “The enemies understood very well that the only factor that can resist their domination is Islam, so they tried to create discord among Muslims by using their media and news empire and also by launching takfiri and criminal groups”.