Iran’s president-elect Raisi tells US to return to deal
Iranian president-elect Ebrahim Raisi held a series of symbolic meetings on Tuesday, as Saudi Arabia showed a willingness to judge his government by “the reality on the ground.”
Raisi met with the head of the Office of the Supreme Leader in Iran, as well as military figures and the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to show he is taking charge. Raisi has been receiving congratulations from around the region, especially backing from Turkey, China, Russia and other countries Iran values relations with.
Inside Iran the goal of the regime is to showcase support for the new president. Iran’s president-elect also said the US “must return to full compliance” with the 2015 landmark nuclear deal with Iran, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and “fulfill its commitments as per the accord,” according to Press TV.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister expressed willingness to be open to the government.
“From our perspective, foreign policy in Iran is in any case run by the supreme leader and therefore we base our interactions and our approach to Iran on the reality on the ground, and that is what we will judge the new government
on, regardless of who is in charge,” Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud told a news conference with his Austrian counterpart.
He did not say how he wanted that reality to change but he did say he was “very concerned” about unanswered questions on Iran’s nuclear program, an apparent reference to the UN nuclear watchdog seeking explanations on the origin of uranium particles found at undeclared sites in Iran.
In a bid to contain tensions between them, Saudi Arabia and Iran began direct talks in April.
Another key Raisi policy is the continued building of Iran’s missile
program. This means more ballistic missiles. “Issues related to [Iran’s] regional [influence] and missile program are not open to negotiation,” the Iranain president-elect said. It is believed that IRGC Aerospace head Amir Ali Hajizadeh has rising influence and that he may even attain new heights now. He has pioneered a new drone recently, named after Gaza, and is involved in other leading program.
Meanwhile, 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.