TEHRAN — Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi stated on Tuesday that the United States should make a decision on lifting sanctions on Iran within the framework of the talks, which started in April last year to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.

However, the Biden administration is procrastinating and wasting time, Raisi said at a meeting with participants at the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) in Tehran. 

The president said Tehran has spoken with reason and logic in the talks to revive nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The president reiterated his government’s policy is to simultaneously lift sanctions and neutralizing them.
 
He added, “We’re determined to follow the (Iranian) nation’s rights.” 

Elsewhere in his remarks, Raisi turned to the issue of media and their mission, underlining that the media should be capable of preserving the nations’ identity, freedom, and independence.

He went on to say that the enemies are seeking to make the world and regional countries give up their independence.

‘Sanctions assassinate economy’

Elsewhere in his remarks, the president touched on the issue of sanctions, stating that they “assassinate” the economy of the countries, comparing sanctions to a military war.

“They, through cultural terrorism, are also after concealing the truth,” he underlined.

Therefore, the president noted, the media are responsible to protect the identity of people of Asia and Oceania. 

Today, arrogant countries are looking to changing the societies’ understanding by imposing their own wills, he said, adding that the media has a duty to counter such moves.

OANA, which covers some two-thirds of the world population, has 43 members from 35 countries. IRNA, Fars and Mehr from Iran are also members to the media body. It met in Tehran on Monday.

The organization was founded in 1961 upon an initiative by UNESCO to promote interactions in the arenas of news articles and other mass media products to achieve a multi-sound information flow. 

OANA picked “New Challenges for Journalism” as its focal theme.

Media experts from Asia and Oceania discussed threats and opportunities for journalism at the Tehran meeting. 

The event, in particular, raised effective strategies to counter Western media monopoly.

The opening speeches turned the spotlight on media as a tool for the promotion of truth and freedom, seeking new chapters in communication, and possible solutions for the challenges ahead.