Raeisi: Sanctions, pressures will not dissuade Iranians from pursuing their legal rights

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raeisi says the US policy of imposing sanctions and mounting pressure on the Iranian nation will not deter the nation from pursuing its legal rights, including the right to development.

“The policy of pressure and sanctions will not deter the Iranian nation from pursuing its legal rights, including the right to development,” Raeisi said in a Thursday speech while addressing the Iranian Parliament after taking the oath of office as Iran’s eighth president.

“All sanctions on the Iranian nation must be removed and we support any diplomatic initiative that pursues this goal,” Raeisi added.

The Iranian nation, he said, created an epic landmark through participation in the presidential election “at a time that we were dealing with the peak of the enemy’s mischief from unjust economic sanctions to extensive psychological war as well as the problems caused by the spread of the coronavirus.”

“Today, the Iranian nation expects us to fulfill our promise for establishing an administration [based on] dispensing justice and fighting corruption and discrimination.”

“We are true defenders of human rights and do not accept silence in the face of oppression, crime and the violation of the rights of innocent and defenseless human beings ... whether it is at the heart of Europe and America, or in Africa, Yemen, Syria and Palestine. We will stand by the oppressed, and inside the country, people and the youth of this land expect us to be the voice of the oppressed," Iran's president said.

“The administration has arisen from the will of the nation to meet the interests of people and dispense justice; [therefore,] it will stand fast and will move in this direction tirelessly,” he added.

Raeisi said he would make utmost efforts to serve more than 80 million Iranians, noting, “An administration arising from people is an administration of national unity in which political factions as well as ethnic, religious and group-based demarcations have no place.

Strengthening cooperation among the three branches of the government, Raeisi highlighted, is crucial under the current sensitive circumstances "and no opportunity should be lost for serving people."

Saying that Iran’s power in the region is aimed at establishing security, the Iranian president said, “Iran’s regional capacities are at the service of peace and stability in countries and will be solely used to counter threats posed by hegemonic and oppressive powers.”

He emphasized that intra-regional dialogue based on people’s rights is the only solution to the current crises plaguing the region.  

"I extend the hand of friendship and brotherhood toward all countries in the region, especially our neighbors," Iran's president said.

Raeisi took the oath of office to be officially inaugurated as the eighth president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, after having his mandate endorsed by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

Endorsed by Ayatollah Khamenei, Ebrahim Raeisi becomes Iran’s 8th president

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei will endorse Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi as Iran’s new president.

He garnered almost 62 percent of the votes in the June 18 presidential election with a turnout of 48.8 percent.

Raeisi said he would submit the list of his cabinet to the Parliament within the next few days.

According to Iran’s Constitution, the president will have a two-week deadline to introduce his cabinet members to the Parliament.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said the qualifications of the proposed ministers would be reviewed with more speed and precision to help Raeisi form his administration as soon as possible.

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