TEHRAN- President Ebrahim Raisi has stated that his government has never linked Iran’s development to the ongoing negotiations for abolishing sanctions imposed on Tehran by the United States.

The comments were made by Ebrahim Raisi during a televised interview on Tuesday night to honor the second anniversary of his election as the president of the country.

It was the ninth live interview by Raisi since taking office in August 2021. 

He maintained that it is “crucial for us to fortify the nation to a point of power” that would make it resistant to sanctions.

“What is more important is for us to enhance the country to such level of strength that would render it immune to sanctions,” the president added. 

The negotiations have been intended to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), an agreement reached between Iran, the U.S., China, Russia, the European troika, the and larger EU in 2015.

The agreement gave the Islamic Republic some reprieve from some sanctions, and in return, Iran promised to put limits on part of its nuclear activity.

However, the U.S. withdrew from the agreement in 2018 under the administration of former President Donald Trump, reinstating all the sanctions that it had waived and added new ones.

Washington’s unwillingness to provide assurances that it wouldn’t pull out of the pact again has caused the negotiations to stagnate.

“Balanced and consistent”

Raisi later addressed the topic of Iran’s foreign policy during his presidency.

He insisted that the Islamic Republic shouldn’t restrict its international connections to a particular number of nations to the exclusion of others, saying that Iran has been pursuing “balanced and consistent” relations with the whole globe throughout his tenure. 

The Iranian president said that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which is likely to welcome the Islamic Republic as a full member in the coming months, granted Iran’s request for membership in the transcontinental alliance due to the similar foreign policy stance.

“We will cooperate with whatever country that could pursue having relations with us that are based on mutual respect. And if there are some exceptional countries such as the United States that seek adversary towards us, we will resort to resistance against them.”

Raisi stated that since the start of his administration, Iran has extended a hand of friendship to all nations that share a similar sentiment and are supportive of the Islamic Republic.

He used the recent reconciliation between Iran and Saudi Arabia as an example, pointing out that despite many conflicts, the Islamic Republic never saw Saudi Arabia as a true adversary.

Raisi also indicated that he agreed with the Leader of the Islamic Revolution’s assessment of last year’s foreign-backed disturbances in the country, saying the foes triggered the riots because they were concerned about the nation’s development and the people’s optimism.

“The enemy had sought to stop the country’s progress through hybrid war, but the people chose not to allow this progress to stop,” Iran’s chief executive noted.