Iran’s New President Gives Biden Cold Shoulder

Iran’s new president has stated that he has no plans to meet with Joe Biden.

According to The Washington Free Beacon:

Iran’s newly elected hardline president, Ebrahim Raisi, said in his first press conference on Monday that he will not allow negotiations to take place on the country’s contested missile program, which includes long-range ballistic missiles capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. He also said that he will not agree to any future meetings with President Joe Biden.

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Raisi, a former chief justice who authorized the murder of thousands of dissidents, also said Iran will not agree to any new nuclear agreement without the Biden administration first unilaterally lifting all economic sanctions on the country. The country also announced during the weekend that it is likely to abandon negotiations with the United States in the near future.

Raisi’s comments, his first since winning an election Friday that was widely seen as rigged, are a sign the president intends to take a more hardline approach to diplomacy with America. The Biden administration is engaged in talks with the Islamic Republic in Vienna and had hoped a new deal would be finalized before the election. Raisi’s rise to power is likely to complicate these efforts, particularly in light of his decision to take the ballistic missile portfolio off the table.

“We urge the U.S. Government to live up to its commitment to this agreement. Regional and missile issues are not negotiable,” he said in comments carried by the country’s state-controlled press. “An issue has been negotiated and agreed upon, and a contract has been concluded, and they have committed to it but have not acted on it. Now, how do they want to negotiate new topics?”

Biden is looking to impose restrictions on the missile development capabilities but the approach still seems to be up in the air.