Pres. Raeisi: US sought to stop Iran's progress through sanctions, but failed

Iran's President Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi says the United States and its Western allies sought to stop the Iranian nation's advancement by means of sanctions but failed in their attempts, describing the coercive measures as another form of warfare against the country.

According to Press TV, President Raeisi made the remarks in an exclusive interview with China's state-run and English-language CGTN television news network broadcast on Saturday.

"In essence, this is also a form of war. The only difference is that the method has changed from the military force to sanctions regimes. Sanctions are incredibly cruel. Essential medications needed by patients, including drugs for treating children with the butterfly skin disease, have been added to the list of sanctioned items against Iran. This has caused immense sufferings for patients and their families. They also sanctioned COVID-19 vaccines," the Iranian president pointed out.

"When I met with the Secretary-General of the United Nations [António Guterres] in New York [on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly], I brought up this issue. He expressed his apologies, saying that despite his best efforts, he could not persuade the United States to lift the ban on vaccine exports to Iran."

"Everyone knows that sanctions hurt ordinary people. They say the sanctions only target the Iranian government, but it is the people who bear the brunt of their cruel impact," President Raeisi said.

"They (American politicians) and their supporters often say that the Iranian government will be gone in six months, or in the year of such and such. But now more than 40 years have passed. It is those who made such claims that are gone. Some have passed away, while some have left office. But our Islamic establishment exists with great vitality. The US wanted to hamper our development through sanctions . But our people, especially our youths, have neither become discouraged nor stopped moving forward," the Iranian president said.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Raeisi pointed to Vienna negotiations on the salvage of the 2015 nuclear deal -- officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) -- and removal of anti-Iran sanctions.

"They (Western parties to the accord) claim to be looking for an agreement, but what we see is that their actions do not correspond to their claims. While Iran has declared its resolve to reach a good  agreement, they do not follow the suit. They have both gone back on their pledges and withdrawn from the JCPOA. They have  also left the negotiating table and announced interest to pursue their goals on streets and instigate chaos than to engage in talks," President Raeisi said.

What we see in the behavior of the current US administration led by President Joe Biden is no different from those of its predecessors, the Iranian president said.

"We believe that Americans are gravely mistaken. They have miscalculations. Some European countries have made miscalculations as well. Their knowledge of Iran and the Iranian nation is off beam. They have compared the Iranian nation with others. They believe they can achieve their goals through actions that are very wrong,"  Raeisi also said as he made a reference to the recent foreign-backed riots across the country.

ME