TEHRAN - President Ebrahim Raisi has restated Tehran’s position on multilateral talks to resurrect the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, saying that Iran has the upper hand because it neither quit the accord nor the talks to resurrect the deal.

Speaking in the closing ceremony of the 21st National Media Festival on Tuesday, which marks National Reporter Day, he said, “We have not trusted the U.S. whatsoever and will never trust them.”

Iran and six major international countries signed the nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in July 2015 to resolve disputes over Iran’s nuclear activities.

Despite Tehran’s complete compliance with its nuclear obligations, the U.S. abandoned the JCPOA in 2018 and reinstated the sanctions that had been lifted under the accord. 

Multilateral diplomatic efforts, which started in April 2021, have so far been unsuccessful in reviving the agreement.

In the meantime, Raisi underlined that his government is following a policy of “offsetting” the sanctions while participating in the negotiations to remove them. 

“We are reaching for that end with all our might because we have seen their breaches of promises,” he added.

Raisi went on to say that despite all the threats, restrictions, and sufferings that the adversary has imposed on the country, Iran is progressing in many areas, particularly science and technology.       

In other parts of his speech, Raisi expressed gratitude to the nation’s journalists for countering propaganda and disinformation tactics by the adversary.  “I truly appreciate you for the countless efforts you took in many circumstances that can enable you to counter the enemy’s media campaigns that seek to distort the truth.”

He emphasized that one of a journalist’s most crucial qualities is the ability to generate confidence.

“The enemy’s goal is to weaken hope and faith in the hearts of the people. These are the two basic principles that the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei emphasizes,” Raisi stressed. 

Raisi remarked that the enemies seek to depress people through disinformation campaigns, noting that journalists are crucial in “creating hope.”

On the 17th day of the Persian month of Mordad – August 8 - which fell on Tuesday this year, Iran observes National Reporter Day. On this date in 1988, the Taliban stormed the Iranian consulate in the Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif and killed an Iranian journalist and eight diplomats.