Iran’s new president takes a hard line on negotiations

Islam News – Iran will not negotiate with the U.S. over its ballistic missile programs or regional militia forces, Ebrahim Raisi, an ultraconservative elected as Iran’s new president over the weekend, said on Monday.

In his first news conference as president-elect, Raisi also said he would not meet with President Biden. He called for Americans to comply with a 2015 agreement that limited Iran’s nuclear program in return for lifting economic sanctions.

“We emphasize that the U.S. government should be sincere toward its commitments while noting that the regional and missile issues are not negotiable,” he said in a briefing, according to the official Iranian IRNA news service. He also voiced a new idea: that Iran was willing to restore diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia, which collapsed in 2016. The statement appeared to be part of efforts to build bilateral ties with countries in the region independent of the U.S.
Source:  AP NEWS