In his preliminary remarks, the president-elect praised people’s participation in the June 18 elections, calling it an epic. He said it sent an “important message” to the entire world.

He said people high turnout in the election took place despite the coronavirus pandemic, propaganda by the enemies, and economic hardship.

This is an excerpt of his remarks:

The message of the election was to administer “justice” and “fight corruption”.

My administration will remain loyal to the promises that I have made during the presidential campaigns.

I want to improve the economic condition of the people, improve their livelihood.

To administer a law-abiding and effective managerial system.

I also thank services by the successive governments since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. However, in certain cases due to mismanagement Iran is facing problems and is lagging behind.

The West should know that situation has changed

The world, particularly the West, should realize that the situation in Iran has changed through the people’s vote.

Our foreign policy will not begin with the JCPOA and will not end with the JCPOA.

We will seek a “balanced relationship” with the outside world.

“National interests” will be considered in negotiations with foreigners.

Negotiations should produce results.

The United States should have realized that “maximum pressure” on Iran has been fruitless.

The JCPOA has been “violated” by the U.S. and the Europeans have also not abided by their commitments under the multilateral agreement.

Iran wants Europeans to commit themselves to their obligations.

Liquidity should be directed toward production

Liquidity should be managed. It should be directed toward the production sector.

We will make production “enticing”.

And we also should administer an effective tax system and make certain business activities like those in gold market and housing unattractive.

All sanctions must be lifted

All sanctions must be lifted and their removal must be verified. America must abide by its commitments under the nuclear agreement.

As a lawyer I defend human rights 

As a lawyer I have always defended the people’s rights. I have defended human rights.

Those who have violated the rights of people in the world must be held answerable.

Instead, those who have defended the rights of the people should be praised.

Even today I consider myself tasked to defend the right of all people all around the world.

This is my honor as prosecutor general to defend the rights and welfare of the people.

Bident must lift all sanctions

Biden must prove his sincerity by lifting all sanctions.

The Iranian people don’t have a good memory about the JCPOA.

The Iranian missile program is not subject for negotiations. Why does the U.S. which has not honored its commitments under the JCPOA it is talking about other issues?

 West hosting assassinators of Ayatollah Beheshti and others 

Certain Western countries are now home to assassinators of Ayatollah Mohammad Hossein Beheshti and prime minister Mohammad Ali Rajaei.

The West must now be held accountable that why has it been hosting murders of Ayatollah Beheshti.

Competence is the criterion for cabinet makeup

Professionalism, revolutionary spirit, have the will to fight corruption will be the chief criterion for forming the government.

We definitely pursue for implementation of comprehensive partnership with China

We have a good relationship with China since the Islamic Revolution. There is great potential for cooperation.

Implementing the (25-year) comprehensive partnership will definitely be on the agenda.

Referendum is solution to the Palestinian problem

The Islamic Republic has been insisting on referendum for settling the conflict in Palestine.

Iran has always been defender of the oppressed people including the Palestinians and this has been stated in the constitution and being insisted on by Imam Khomeini and Leader of the Islamic Revolution.

War on Yemen should be stopped immediately 

Saudis and it allies should stop war on Yemen. This war should be stopped immediately. Yemen should be managed by the Yemenis themselves.

Iran, Saudi Arabia can reopen embassies 

Our priority is relations with neighbors especially neighboring countries and there.

In view of the Islamic Republic reopening embassies between Iran and Saudi Arabia is something that can happen.

And there should be no problem for relations between the two countries (Iran and Saudi Arabia) as well as dialogue with all regional countries

Investment by Iranians abroad is a priority

Helping Iranians return to the country is also on the agenda.

The entrance of Iranians to the country should be facilitated.

Investment by the Iranians living abroad in the country is highly prioritized.

Safety is for all and all investors should know that today the Islamic Republic of Iran is one of the “safest places” for investment and the government guarantees it.

Talented persons can offer views for better management 

Talented persons can propose their views on better management of the country and a mechanism has been devised in which experts can present their ideas.

The post Missile program is non-negotiable appeared first on Iran News Daily.

IRAN NEWS POLITICAL DESK

Spokesman for the Iranian mission at the United Nations, wrote on his official Twitter page, “Iran’s missiles and its missile program are absolutely and under no condition negotiable with anyone or any country, period.” This statement categorically rejected the Associated Press’s characterization of Foreign Minister (Mohammad Javad) Zarif’s comments to NBC News that “If the U.S. wants to talk about missiles, it should stop selling weapons, including missiles, to regional states” as meaning that Iran is willing to negotiate on its defensive missile program at some point.”

He went on to say, “Surely AP reporters are familiar enough with conversational English to know and understand and are able to contextualize comments on the hypothetical, as well as parrying with words to make a point. Drawing a false conclusion in pursuit of headlines, when what was said in the context was obvious, only leads to a diminution of the standing of the press with the public.”

When Foreign Minister Zarif in his interview with British broadcasting BBC was asked if this would include discussions about Iran’s missiles – something absent from the original 2015 agreement – Iran’s foreign minister said if the U.S. wanted to discuss the program, he replied, “Let’s all start with we already agreed, let us see what we can do and then if you want to discuss ballistic missiles, then we need to discuss the amount of weapons sold to our region. Last year Iran spent $16b all together on its military, we have an 82 million population …  The United Arab Emirates with a million population spent $22b. Saudi Arabia with less than half of our population spent $67b, most of them are American. These are American weaponry that is going into our region, making our region ready to explode. So if they want to talk about our missiles, they need first to stop selling all these weapons including missiles to our region.”

Zarif completed his interview with BBC with posting a tweet on his page and wrote: “For 8 years, [former Iraqi President] Saddam showered our cities with missiles and bombs provided by East and West. Meanwhile, no one sold Iran any means of defense. We had no choice but building our own. Now they complain. Instead of skirting the issue, U.S. must end arms sales to Saddam’s reincarnations.”

That in this condition foreign minister has replied to the questions of the American reporters logically and reasonably indicates that he has emphasized the offence of the U.S. for pulling out of the JCPOA and arming the Persian Gulf states but actually it is beyond foreign minister’s authority to talk about the country’s missile programs. Of course Mr. Zarif is well aware of it that Europe and the U.S.  have once and again tried to open the chapter of negotiations but they have failed.

By: Hamid Reza Naghashian

The post Negotiations on Missile Program “Reduction to Absurdity” appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Speaking ahead of the Tuesday meeting by NATO defense ministers in Brussels, Stoltenberg voiced concerns about what he described as Iran’s “destabilizing activities in the wider Middle East region” and its missile program.

Responding to Stoltenberg’s statement, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Wednesday that the Islamic Republic, which is itself a major victim of terrorism, has played the most effective role in ending the rule of terrorist groups, including ISIL, in the region.

According to the Foreign Ministry website, Qassemi said Tehran’s fight against terrorism comes as certain countries and their allies have just been engaged in creating “fake” coalitions against the terrorist movements.

“Contrary to the statements of the NATO Secretary General, Iran’s constructive role in stabilizing the Persian Gulf region and the Middle East has been acknowledged by a large part of the international community,” he stated.

Qassemi further stressed that the Europeans should not cast doubts on such policies that have been constructive and effective in providing them with security.

The spokesman also rejected the NATO chief’s statement regarding Iran’s missile program, saying the program has a defensive and deterrent nature. He said Iran, like all independent countries in the world, has the right to use conventional military-defense programs to defend itself.

“We will never let other countries deprive us of the most basic defensive weapons, having experienced the devastating war of Saddam Hussein supported by the West and the East,” he remarked.

“The NATO secretary general had better be more concerned about the unilateral and dangerous policies of Washington and the non-compliance of this NATO member with its international obligations,” stated Qassemi.

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In an interview with ILNA published on Saturday, Dzhagaryan said that any change to the text of the JCPOA is a clear violation of the UN Security Council resolution 2231.

In a statement on January 12, U.S. President Donald Trump gave Europeans only 120 days to agree to an overhaul of the nuclear agreement. He threatened if the text of the nuclear deal is not revised he would unilaterally withdraw the U.S. from it. Trump said the nuclear deal should include Iran’s defense program including missiles.

According to the nuclear agreement signed between Iran, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the U.S., UK, France, Russia, and China – and Germany, Iran agreed to put limits on its nuclear work for termination of economic and financial sanctions.

“Russia has constantly contacted the 5+1 group member states and our position in this respect is clear. The JCPOA is a good document which should be protected, but the U.S. and European countries’ approach could cause this good deal to reach a deadlock. However, Russia supports the agreement,” the ambassador remarked.

Ambassador Dzhagaryan noted that Russia will continue cooperating with Iran even if the U.S. pulls out of the nuclear deal.

The nuclear deal was struck in July 2015 and went into effect in January 2016.

Ali Akbar Salehi, director of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, warned on Thursday that Iran will give a surprise if the U.S. scraps the nuclear deal and if the European countries and other major powers do not resist Washington.

Ambassador calls Moscow-Tehran ties ‘strategic’

Elsewhere, Dzhagaryan said that Russia is very “optimistic” about prospect of economic relations with Iran.

He described Tehran-Moscow ties as “strategic”.

The post Iran’s missile program not related to nuclear deal: Russian diplomat appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Iran, located in the highly volatile Middle East region, has been insisting that its missiles are purely deterrent.

France and other Western powers must know that still unpredictable persons rule in some the Middle Eastern countries.

Consider the surprising Saudi-led siege of the tiny state of Qatar on June 5. Suddenly and surprisingly, Saudi Arabia along with the UAE embarked on strangling Qatar by closing land, sea and air routes to the country.  If it was not for Iran’s help, the Qataris might have even been starved as the country imports a considerable portion of its foodstuff.

Saudi Arabia might have even invaded Qatar if Turkish troops had not been deployed in Qatar or Doha had not signed a military pact with Ankara.

Also remember that after Saddam Hussein militarily failed to annex the oil-rich parts of Iran in the 1980s, he attacked Kuwait in 1990 and declared it as its 19th province.

Now after more than two decades a new ruling family has emerged in Saudi Arabia who behaves Like Saddam Hussein. The Saudi invasion of Yemen in March 2015 is a concrete example of this.

Mohammad bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince, has shamelessly and unexpectedly threatened to take “the battle” inside Iran. Moreover, Saudi officials for years have been urging the U.S. to attack Iran. The documents released by the WikiLeaks are evidence to this.

Some analysts believe that the $110 billion arms deal along with about $300 billion trade pacts that Saudi Arabia signed with the United States during Donald Trump’s visit to Riyadh in May 2017 were primarily intended to provoke the Trump administration to attack Iran and rescind the nuclear agreement.

Also, consider repeated military threats against Iran by Israel, which is armed with nuclear weapons. While the countries use the annual Munich Security Conference to prevent possible conflicts or calm down tensions, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his speech at the conference this year, threatened to launch military attacks on Iran.

Furthermore, while the range of Iran’s ballistic missiles is limited to 2,000 kilometers, Saudi Arabia’s Chinese-supplied missiles have a range of upwards of 4,000 kilometers.

In view of these facts and a Western arms embargo against Iran how can the West expect Iran to compromise on its missile capability and put its security in harm’s way?

“Certainly true that Iran has ballistic missiles with regional reach. But so have others in that region. Saudi Arabia has Chinese-supplied ones. Israel have advanced ones with nuclear capability,” former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt has said.

While the balance of power in terms of weaponry has been undermined by the shipment of sophisticated arms to Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Israel, it is absolutely unacceptable to expect Iran to compromise on its military power.

Iran still has the scars of Saddam’s missile attacks on its cities; still, the body of Iranian soldiers and civilians killed in the war are being unearthed; and still many families are awaiting to receive the body of their loved ones.

The Iranians, whose mind are fresh with Saddam’s war against their country, see the missile capability as an asset which can hopefully deter another Saddam Hussein from starting a military attack against them.

If the West really seeks a tension-free Middle East it must consider Iran’s legitimate security concerns and introduce a region-wide arms control initiative. In addition, the U.S. military threats against Iran must come to an end. It is enough to know that repeated threats by Trump to tear up the nuclear deal are viewed by many as a prelude to set the stage for war against Iran.

Mr. Le Drian must convey these worries to the West.

The post First look at real threats and then talk about missile program appeared first on Iran News Daily.

“Today Iran’s indigenized defense power, and specially the missile power which is the result of the experience gained during the Sacred Defense (Iraqi-imposed war 1980-1988) years, can neither be weakened nor restricted given its national identity,” Fars news agency quoted Shamkhani as saying while addressing university students in the western province of Kurdistan on Monday evening.

“The plans to enhance the country’s defense capacities will powerfully continue to confront the threats without attention to the foreign pressures and as a necessity in the national security area,” the top security official stated.

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