Sanctions on Iran Ineffective: President

In comments at a meeting with his Swiss counterpart on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Raisi hailed the friendly and good relations between Iran and Switzerland, and said, "Increasing commercial and economic cooperation and especially facilitating monetary and banking relations between the two countries are necessary."

The president described the problem of the nuclear issue as a result of the Americans’ failure to make a decision, and added, "It was the United States that withdrew from the JCPOA, not Iran, and despite Iran fulfilling its commitments, the Western parties refused to fulfill their commitments."

Iran has not left the negotiating table and is ready for a good and fair agreement, Raisi underlined, adding, "Considering the history of the United States, the demand of the Islamic Republic to receive a guarantee of the stability of the agreement is a completely reasonable demand."

"Despite 40 years of pressure and sanctions, Iran has not only not stopped but has progressed, so the sanctions tactic has lost its effectiveness," he stated.

Raisi pointed out that the current American administration claims to oppose its predecessor’s decisions and wants to return to the agreement, noting, "We have not yet seen practical and serious behavior that is a sign of compensating for past behaviors and lifting oppressive sanctions."

For his part, Swiss President Ignazio Cassis emphasized the need for boosting bilateral cooperation and said, "Since 2016, a road map was drawn to improve the trade relations between the two countries, which we still adhere to, and we believe that political and geopolitical obstacles should be removed from the way of cooperation between the two countries."

He also described the security of Iran and West Asia as the guarantor of the security of Europe and said, "Monetary and banking cooperation is one of the areas that can be expanded in bilateral relations."