Raisi: Iranian Nation Turned US Threats, Sanctions into Opportunities

By Staff, Agencies

Iranian President Sayyed Ebrahim Raisi said the Iranian nation has succeeded in turning the United States' sanctions and threats into opportunities.

"The US sought to stop our nation through sanctions and threats, but not only our nation did not give in, it created an opportunity out of threats and sanctions and made progress," Raisi said after he was officially welcomed by his Nicaraguan counterpart, Daniel Ortega, upon arrival in Managua on Tuesday evening local time.

He argued that the Nicaraguan people's resistance against excessive demands and hegemonic powers led to their victory, adding that the two nations share a common desire for independence, freedom and justice.

He rejected "false" claims by Western powers about their advocacy for democracy and human rights and urged the West, especially the US, to respect the governments that are based on people's votes, "but they do the opposite," he said.

Raisi compared the US role in creating Daesh [Arabic for ‘ISIS/ISIL’] to the Islamic Republic's support for the fight against terrorism, saying, "They claim to fight terrorism but they martyred [Iran's] anti-terror hero General Qassem Soleimani."

The Iranian president further noted that Tehran and Managua enjoy "strategic" relations. He expressed the Islamic Republic's readiness to improve mutual ties in various sectors, particularly science and technology.

Ortega, for his part, said the Iranian and Nicaraguan revolutions have deep roots in the fight against the dominance of arrogant powers, especially the United States.

He said imperial powers intrinsically seek to dominate other countries, and they exert pressure on independent countries under the pretext of human rights and democracy.

Nevertheless, he went on, the independent nations continue to firmly stand up to them.

Heading a high-ranking politico-economic delegation, Raisi arrived in Nicaragua on the second leg of his three-nation tour of Latin America. Earlier, he visited Venezuela and will set off for Cuba later.

Speaking at a joint meeting of the high-ranking delegations of Iran and Venezuela on Monday afternoon local time, the Iranian president said a new world order is being formed in favor of freedom-seeking, independent countries, stressing that resistance against the arrogant powers has led to significant achievements.

In the presence of Raisi and his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro, the two countries' ministers and other top officials signed a total of 19 cooperation agreements and memorandums of understanding.

The agreements are aimed at expanding cooperation between Tehran and Caracas in many areas, including in the field of petrochemicals, as the two sides move to expand overall cooperation in the oil sector.