US efforts to impose hegemony have ‘failed miserably’: Iran’s Raeisi to UN

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi says the US efforts to impose hegemony on other countries have “failed miserably,” and that Washington’s hegemonic system lacks credibility.

Raeisi made the remark during the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly via video conference on Tuesday night, in his first address to the main policy-making organ of the world body since taking office last month.

“This year, two scenes made history: one was on January 6 when the US congress was attacked by the people and, two, when the people of Afghanistan were dropped down from the US planes in August. From the Capitol to Kabul, one clear message was sent to the world: the US’ hegemonic system has no credibility, whether inside or outside the country,” Raeisi told the UN General Assembly.

“What is seen in our region today proves that not only the hegemonist and the idea of hegemony, but also the project of imposing Westernized identity have failed miserably. The result of seeking hegemony has been blood-spilling and instability and, ultimately, defeat and escape. Today, the US does not get to exit Iraq and Afghanistan but is expelled,” he added.

'Sanctions as new US warfare'

Raeisi said Washington is using sanctions as a “new way of war” against other nations, stressing that the US sanctions against the Islamic Republic during the coronavirus pandemic are “crimes against humanity.”

“Sanctions are the US’ new way of war with the world countries. Sanctions against the Iranian nation started not with my country’s nuclear program; they even predate the Islamic Revolution and go back to the year 1951 when oil nationalization went underway in Iran,” Raeisi said at the 76th session of the UN General Assembly.

“Despite the fact that the Islamic Republic was keen from the outset to purchase and import COVID-19 vaccines from reliable international sources, it faced inhumane medical sanctions. Sanctions, especially sanctions on medicine at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, are crimes against humanity,” he noted.

Iran says not indebted to any JCPOA parties, calls on US to drop addiction to sanctions

Iran says the US needs to drop its addiction to sanctions and violations of its commitments under the JCPOA.

'Iran has no trust in US promises'

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Iranian president said Tehran has been adhering to its nuclear commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) while Washington violated the 2015 landmark accord‎, stressing that the US so-called maximum pressure campaign against Iran has failed.

“Today, the whole world, including the Americans themselves, have admitted that the project of countering the Iranian people, which manifested itself in the form of violating the JCPOA and was followed by the “maximum pressure” and arbitrary withdrawal from an internationally recognized agreement, has totally failed,” Raeisi said.

“We want nothing more than what is rightfully ours. We demand the implementation of international rules. All parties must stay true to the nuclear deal and the UN Resolution in practice,” he added.

The Iranian president underlined that 15 reports released by the International Atomic Energy Agency have attested to the adherence of Iran to its commitments, however, the US has not yet discharged its obligation, which is lifting sanctions.

Iran nuclear chief: US should remove all sanctions to resume JCPOA revival talks

The AEOI chief says the US should remove all its sanctions imposed on Tehran in order to resume negotiations on the revival of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Raeisi said Iran has “no trust in US promises,” and wants all anti-Tehran sanctions to be removed at once, noting that the Islamic Republic considers the nuclear talks useful only when their ultimate outcome is the lifting of all unilateral sanctions.

The US, under former president Donald Trump, left the JCPOA in 2018 and returned the sanctions that had been lifted against Tehran as part of the agreement.

President Joe Biden has said Washington is willing to return to the pact if Tehran first suspends its countermeasures taken in response to US violations and re-imposition of sanctions.

The US has yet to take palpable measures to prove its commitment to the JCPOA since its 2018 withdrawal from the accord in spite of of international criticism.

Iran says as the party to have left the deal irrespective of international obligations, the onus is on the US to take the first step toward returning to full compliance by removing the sanctions, stressing it will resume its commitments under the JCPOA as soon as it feels the results of the sanctions removal.

Iran and the remaining parties to the JCPOA have held several rounds of talks in Vienna aimed at restoring the deal. Although progress has been made in the talks, certain points of contention still remain in the talks that were postponed as a new government took office in Iran in August.

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