TEHRAN— In a press briefing on Saturday, Saeed Mohammad, the former director of the Khatam-al Anbiya Construction Headquarters and a presidential hopeful, stated that his future administration will respect the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as it has been ratified by the parliament and the United Nations Security Council.

“The JCPOA was an agreement between Iran and the P5+1 that, despite the many problems of the deal, was legally signed between Iran and its member states and was approved by the United Nations Security Council and the Iranian Parliament, which we respect,” he said.

Mohammad stated that the Iranian nation have faced many problems over the last few years because the United States left the deal unilaterally, and now the Islamic Republic has set two conditions for Washington’s return to the agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

“The first condition is for the United States must return to the deal and it be observed by other countries; and the second condition is that we must verify these measures. And if the other side commits (to its obligations), we will (also) remain committed to the JCPOA. We are waiting for the results of the Vienna talks, which should take place within the framework drawn by the Leader,” he remarked. 

The former IRGC official said, "Instead of putting all the eggs in the basket of the imperialist governments, we will look to the West and the East so that we can face any negotiation with a full hand," emphasizing that he seeks to strike a balance in relations with the West and the East. 

The former director of the Khatam Al Anbiya Construction Headquarters said that the imperialist system has affected the countries of the region. 

He noted that, “We are on a ship in which the United States and other countries are abusing the countries of the region.”

He stressed that Libya and Iraq have given their oil reserves to the imperialist countries and ISIS is a product of these imperialist countries. 

“We must join hands to recognize the danger of imperialism and rely on each other to complete the security of the region. Imperialism says that Saudi Arabia is a milk cow and once its milk is gone, we will behead it,” Mohammad said.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the presidential candidate said Iran has neglected trade and commercial sector, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has focused too much on the JCPOA. 

On his administration’s foreign policy, he said, “We must establish economic relations with the countries of the region.” 

Mohammad went on to say that he believes that when the West and the imperialists do not fulfill their obligations, why should Iran fulfill its obligations like “a good kid in the class?”

Criticizing the current administration’s nuclear policy in regard to the West, he said, “Iran has fulfilled its commitments, accepted rigorous visits, poured cement on nuclear sites, and the other side has flipped the table, and we are still running after it,” he said, criticizing the current administration’s approach. 

He noted that the Europeans played a “good cop bad cop” policy with Iran in regard to the JCPOA. 

“We are a committed country and when we make a commitment, we will act on it. In this situation, they were looking for FATF and CFT, and they say that if these are not implemented, we will be miserable.”

Mohammad began to question the current administration’s diplomatic approach, asking, “If this situation continues, should we still fulfill our obligations? We need radiopharmaceuticals but we cannot access them. What is the reason when we need radiopharmaceuticals and it requires 93% uranium; we do not do it despite their non-commitment? We must do our work for peaceful purposes.”

He underlined that Iran is not after a nuclear bomb “and no one in our country is looking for it, but we are looking for it (93% enriched uranium) in the form of peaceful uses.”

The presidential nominee said after forty years, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution permitted the administration to negotiate with the United States, “but now this negotiation is no longer relevant, because we negotiated for 8 (12) years and it did not work. We are not satisfied with the JCPOA, which was abandoned unilaterally, but if this is implemented, we will move on to the next negotiations. Our people suffered a lot from the deal, and the wall of distrust created by the U.S. If the people's economic problems are solved, we will decide to negotiate later.”

The presidential elections will be held on June 18. Registrations will open on May 11 and will continue for 5 days. 

Many political figures such as Rostam Ghasemi, former Minister of Petroleum; and Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary of the Expediency Council have so far declared candidacy.

SA/PM