Iran will not retreat from 'nuclear rights' even one iota: President Raeisi

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi has once again reiterated the peaceful nature of the country's nuclear program, stressing that Tehran will never give up its nuclear rights in talks aimed at reviving the 2015 Iran deal.

"Although enemies do not want to hear this, we declare for the one-hundredth time that nuclear activities of the Islamic Republic of Iran are peaceful and any refusal to accept them will not stop our work," Raeisi said while addressing a ceremony to mark National Nuclear Technology Day on Saturday.

"In the nuclear talks, we will not back off from the Iranian people's nuclear rights even an iota," he added.

Iran has never left or stopped the negotiations with the five remaining parties to the deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), he said, emphasizing that his administration feels duty-bound to "defend the rights of the nation and the achievements of our country's dear scientists."

He added that the Islamic Republic is resolved to fully defend the absolute rights of the Iranian people, saying, "We will never allow arrogant powers to infringe on the inalienable rights of the Iranian people or slow down or stop Iran's peaceful nuclear activities."

"The path to making further peaceful nuclear achievements and increasing capabilities will continue with strength," he added.

Negotiations have been held in the Austrian capital since April last year to restore the JCPOA, which was ditched by former US President Donald Trump in May 2018.

In quitting the agreement, Trump introduced what he called a “maximum pressure” campaign to bring Iran to its knees. Tehran maintains that the policy has failed dismally. The Joe Biden administration agrees, yet it has not taken any tangible steps to deliver on its promise of repealing the policy.

In recent months, Iran has cited Washington’s indecisiveness as the reason behind the protraction of the talks, while a number of key issues remain unresolved, ranging from the removal of all post-JCPOA sanctions to the provision of guarantees by the American side that it will not leave the deal again.

The other parties to the talks – Russia, China, France, the UK, and Germany – have also noted that the negotiators are close to finalizing an agreement.

In a post on his Twitter account on Monday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said the current stalemate in the negotiations held to revive the JCPOA is due to excessive demands put forth by the United States, saying Tehran will never give in to such demands.

Iran FM: We will never give in to US' excessive demands in JCPOA revival talks

Iran’s FM says the current stalemate in the JCPOA revival talks in Vienna is due to excessive demands of the US.

“If there is a pause in the course of the Vienna talks, it’s due to the American side’s excessive demands,” Iran’s foreign minister said.

Raeisi further said sanctions, threats and numerous vicissitudes imposed on the Iranian people have failed to stop the country from promoting its nuclear industry and advancing peaceful nuclear aims.

The Iranian president emphasized that nuclear weapons have no place in the country's defense doctrine, saying, "Many countries in this region have nuclear weapons but the enemies do not care about their nuclear weapons. This shows that they are fearful of Iran's independence and empowerment."

He stated, "The International Atomic Energy Agency has in more than 15 reports verified that no violation has been witnessed in Iran's nuclear activities."

Much to the dismay of enemies, he said, great achievements have been made by young and brave Iranian scientists in the nuclear industry, which can be used in various medical, agricultural and industrial fields.

Iran on Saturday unveiled nine new nuclear and other scientific achievements in a ceremony attended by Raeisi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Mohammad Eslami and Vice President for Science and Technology Sourena Sattari.

Iran marks National Nuclear Technology Day with 9 new nuclear achievements

Iran marked the National Nuclear Technology Day in an impressive ceremony held in Tehran on Saturday, where the country

Among the accomplishments put on display were three radiopharmaceuticals, two achievements in the fields of cold plasma technology (CPT) and plasma therapy for cancer patients, and another four in the areas of industry, lasers, control systems, and photography.

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