TEHRAN – Iranian President Ayatollah Seyed Ebrahim Raisi has said that Iran remains committed to proceeding with negotiations in Vienna.

In a speech delivered Saturday in the all-female University of Al-Zahra on the occasion of the start of the new academic year, President Raisi touched on the talks in Vienna over reviving the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), among other issues.

Ayatollah Raisi explained the logic of the government in the negotiations to lift the sanctions and the enemy's attempt to impose its conditions on Iran and said, "We announced from the beginning that we would not leave the negotiation table, but we would stick to honorable negotiations, and today the logic of the Islamic Republic of Iran is accepted in the world."

Pointing out that today almost 60% of the country's students are female students, President Raisi described the combined spirit of research with science and tolerance of female students to be effective in this field and added, "In the years after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, women have shined in many academic fields of the country and have even been able to show off their abilities in the global fields."

He noted, "When an educated Iranian woman makes an important scientific achievement at the world level and is placed on a platform, the flag of the Islamic Republic is raised and the national anthem of Iran is played; this creates strength for the country".

Stating that science and knowledge are important components of power and ability, Ayatollah Raisi said, "Today, the country has achieved high levels of power and ability with the efforts of professors and students. While in the past we needed to import barbed wire and we were denied the same, today we have achieved amazing progress in various scientific and industrial fields despite the most extensive sanctions; and with the God's help, this path will continue."

In another part of his speech, President Raisi congratulated the new students and stated, "Devote all your efforts to research, and the government will also use all its efforts to provide the necessary facilities for you."

Ayatollah Raisi also said resolving employment concerns of male and female students as one of the tasks of his government. He added, "The government considers university as its think tank and expects universities and scientific centers to come to the aid of the government with new ideas and initiatives."

Ethnic diversity a sign of strength

Earlier on Friday, President Raisi attended a ceremony for commemorating the National Day of Nomads and Villages. At the ceremony, Raisi described ethnic diversity in Iran as the strength of the Islamic Republic in the direction of developing resistance economy.

He described creating 300,000 jobs in villages and utilizing 12,000 rural economic and infrastructure projects as great and valuable measures taken for developing rural economy.

He added, "Although water, electricity, schools and health clinics are provided in villages today, we still see the migration of villagers because they do not see the rural economy as profitable."

Raisi said the slogan of "knowledge-based producing village" is the solution to this problem and said, "Combining the valuable lifestyle of nomads and villagers with modern science and knowledge forms a complete production chain that promotes knowledge-based production."

Referring to the formation of the "Supreme Council of Construction Jihad" in his administration to support the activities of voluntary groups and energizing rural economy, the president said, "The capacities that exist in village are not small, and these capacities can be developed with integrated policies, looking at the priorities."

President Raisi also called the establishment of a system for mapping the situation of the country's villages a valuable measure to inform the officials about the situation of rural society, saying, "The existence of a mechanism to monitor the affairs of village is a necessity so that the officials can monitor the problems of village in real time."

Ayatollah Raisi also pointed out the importance of exploiting mines in the development of villages and stated, "Activation of closed and semi-closed mines is on the agenda of the government, and in this context, it has been emphasized that a part of the mining revenues should be allocated for the development of villages in the same region."

Elsewhere in his remarks, the president said in most of his meetings with foreign leaders he has clearly “declared that the Islamic Republic of Iran has made significant progress despite the severe sanctions."