TEHRAN – New Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said in a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Sunday that Iran Tehran does not oppose the “principle of negotiation” to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The United States under Donald Trump quit the JCPOA in May 2018 and slapped the harshest sanctions in history against Iran in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

Iran remained fully loyal to the terms of the JCPOA one year after the U.S. abandoned the deal and this was confirmed by regular reports given by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

However, Iran started to gradually remove bans on its nuclear activities after the European parties to the agreement did nothing to compensate Iran for the sanctions.

President Raisi said Iran complied with all its commitments in the nuclear agreement, but it was Washington that violated it.

Naturally, Raisi said, a country that adhered to its obligations should be “commended”, and a country that has withdrawn from the deal and refused to fulfill its obligations must be “reprimanded”

The Americans must be held accountable to the world’s public opinion for violating the legally binding nuclear pact, the president pointed out.

In response to the Japanese foreign minister's remarks on the necessity and importance of implementing the JCPOA as an international agreement, the president said, "Iran has complied with all its obligations under the JCPOA and it is the Americans who have not fulfilled their obligations and unilaterally withdrew from the international agreement and expanded sanctions.”

“Good and friendly relations”

President Raisi also described the Iran-Japan relations as good and friendly and stressed the need to deepen relations between the two countries in all fields, especially economy and trade.

“For the Islamic Republic of Iran, relations with Japan and the development and deepening of bilateral relations is of great importance,” the president pointed out.

Raisi also thanked Japan for its humanitarian assistance in the fight against coronavirus, and expressed hope that the continuation of cooperation between the two countries in this field will help eradicate Covid-19 in both countries and the world at large.

In late July, Japan donated a total of about 2.9 million doses of Japanese-made vaccine to Iran as part of its support to prevent the spread of Coronavirus. It was the largest donation of vaccine by Japan abroad and the fastest vaccine donation under COVAX.

Writing an article in the official IRNA news agency, Motegi said, “If this support helps strengthen the relations and cooperation between Japan and Iran, it will make me happy.”

 “Delay in unfreezing Iranian assets in Japan unjustified”

At the meeting, Raisi also stressed the importance of releasing Iran's frozen assets in Japan, noting, "The delay in the release of Iranian assets in Japanese banks cannot be justified.”

Raisi went on to censure the illegal U.S. sanctions against Iran.

"With what justification should the U.S. sanctions against the Iranian nation continue?”

Though U.S. President Joe Biden heavily criticized Trump for leaving the JCPOA and acknowledged that the “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran has failed to derail Iran’s nuclear program, his administration has so far refused to lift illegal sanctions on Iran despite six rounds of talks, which started in April.

Raisi praises Japan’s efforts to stabilize Afghanistan

In another part of the conversation, Raisi referred to the recent developments in Afghanistan and welcomed the efforts by Japan and other countries in the region to help establish peace and stability in Afghanistan and the region as a whole.

On August 15, the Taliban surprisingly and in a lightening way took over the capital Kabul and President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.

Now the country is in a state of chaos and anxiety as the people are worried what policy the Taliban will follow despite a declaration of amnesty and ceasefire.

"Afghans must decide their own destiny"

The new Iranian president also said it is the Afghans themselves who should decide about their country.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has always supported peace and stability in Afghanistan; of course, we believe that in Afghanistan, Afghans must decide for their fate,” Raisi remarked.

“The presence of Americans in the region, including Afghanistan, not only has not brought security to the country, but has posed threats, and today, after 20 years, Americans are admitting that their presence in Afghanistan was wrong," he stated.

He added, “We will undoubtedly see this admission in the near future in the case of other countries in the region.”

“Maritime security will meet interests of all”

Raisi also said security in regional and international waters will be in the interest of all countries in the world.

“We consider any insecurity in the region dangerous for regional and international security and we oppose it,” the president remarked.

“U.S. bullying threatens independence of nations”

Emphasizing that seeking hegemony in any form in the world would not be in the interest of any nation or region, the president said, “The bullying of the Americans poses a threat to the independence, freedom and identity of nations, and opposing the bullying powers is a necessity for all countries.”

For his part, Foreign Minister Motegi congratulated the inauguration of Raisi as the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran and emphasized the need to deepen the long-standing relations between Japan and Iran. "Iran and Japan have had good and friendly relations for a long time and I have no doubt that these relations will develop further during the term of office of the new government,” the Japanese chief diplomat predicted.

Japan FM says “revival of JCPOA is in everyone's interest”

The Japanese foreign minister added, “Tokyo has always supported the JCPOA as an international agreement, and we believe that the revival of the deal is in everyone's interest and can solve problems," stressing Japan's efforts to bring peace and stability to the region.

“Tokyo supports the diplomatic efforts of the countries in the region to achieve peace and stability in the region, and our principled position is that the problems must be resolved peacefully and through dialogue,” he insisted.

SA/PA