TEHRAN – Iranian President Ayatollah Seyed Ebrahim Raisi underlined on Tuesday that Iran won’t back down from its red lines in the talks in Vienna over reviving the 2015 nuclear deal.

Addressing a formal session of the Assembly of Experts, the president said, “We have not backed down and will not back down from any of [our] red lines.”

He pointed to the nature of the Islamic Republic and then touched on the Vienna talks. 

“The power of the Islamic Republic is based on the support of the people and their presence in various arenas, and social capital and public trust are the most important components of power, authority and national security of the country,” the president said, according to the official website of the Iranian presidency.

Raisi stated that the “popular administration” has announced that it expects the people to do the main task of creating change in the country.

The president refers to his government as popular administration.

Emphasizing that the declaration of the second step of the Islamic revolution is the document and the basis of change in the government, the president stated, "The main axis of the activities of the popular administration is to establish justice and eliminate backwardness in this field."

Noting that his government seeks to develop relations with all countries in the world, Ayatollah Raisi refuted claims that the government is only focusing on the Eastern world.

Referring to the significant increase in trade with neighboring countries, Raisi said, "Some accuse us of looking one-dimensionally to the East and say that today, as in the past, the government is looking to the East. This is not true, and the government seeks to develop relations with all countries and create a balance in the country's foreign policy."

Ayatollah Raisi went on to describe the government's actions in significantly reducing the mortality rate of COVID-19, and said that concerns about the state of basic commodity reserves were another concern of the government at the beginning of its activity and said, "After eliminating the concerns about the stock of basic goods, the government has focused on budgeting and liquidity control, and achieved good results in this area as well."

Ayatollah Raisi added, "The budget bill for 1401 was prepared without a budget deficit and taking into account the realization of 8% economic growth, while in previous years the average economic growth of the country was less than one percent and about 4 tenths of a percent."

Iran’s next year, 1401, will begin on March 21.

The president raised the question of whether it is possible to achieve the goal of 8% economic growth or not, he stated, "According to the 1401 budget document, if expenditures are controlled, revenues increase and cash flow is directed towards production."
"Naturally, when large corporations and banks become active in the productive economy and production, the private sector is encouraged to increase its presence in this area," he said.

The president continued, "For example, construction workshops in Khuzestan have multiplied several times before the government's visit, or the Gorgan Bay restoration operation has begun during the last few days since the government's recent visit to Golestan province."

Ayatollah Raisi said, "In the period since the beginning of the government, we have tried to curb the increase of liquidity and not to borrow from the Central Bank."

In another part of his speech, the president said that the elimination of absolute poverty is another serious concern of the government, and said, "Although there are different indicators to determine absolute poverty in the world, we are trying to define absolute poverty based on our customary definition to eradicate it completely in the Islamic society."

Referring to the issue of nuclear talks, the president explained the government's strategy in this regard, "In the first step, the government seriously pursued the lifting of sanctions, and in the second step, it seeks to lift the sanctions in negotiations that are based on complete respect."

Raisi emphasized, "The popular administration is following the nuclear talks in full accordance with the principles and framework set by the Supreme Leader and has not and will not back down from any of the announced red lines."