Iran’s Newest President Says He Won’t Meet With Biden, Nor Talk About Ballistic Missile Program

Iran’s president-elect said on Monday he will not meet with President Biden or negotiate over Iran’s ballistic missile program and its support for regional militias, according to the Associated Press.

Judicial chief and president-elect Ebrahim Raisi, who won in a landslide election last week, has called for the U.S. to reenter the Iran Nuclear Deal, according to the Associated Press.

BREAKING: Iran's president-elect tells reporters at press conference that he would not be willing to meet U.S. President Joe Biden and calls himself a 'defender of human rights' when asked about his involvement in 1988 mass executions.https://t.co/AKJpXdXDxk

— The Associated Press (@AP) June 21, 2021

“The U.S. is obligated to lift all oppressive sanctions against Iran,” Raisi said in a press conference on Monday, the AP reported.

Raisi responded “non-negotiable” when asked about Iran’s ballistic missile program and support for regional militias, the AP reported.

Iran has built a strong ballistic missile program in response to neighboring countries that have purchased billions of dollars of U.S. military supplies, according to the AP.

Tehran depends on the support of Yemen Houthi and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant groups to fight against Saudi Arabia and Israel, according to the AP.

Raisi answered “no” when asked about potential meetings with President Biden, the AP said.

The White House did not immediately respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

The Iran election turnout was 34%, the lowest in the country’s history, according to the AP.

Many Iranians did not vote as they saw the election skewed in Raisi’s favor after many opponents were disqualified, the AP reports.

Raisi called U.S. sanction relief as “central to our foreign policy” and urged the U.S. to “return to implement your commitments” when discussing the Iran deal, according to the AP.

Raisi defended the 1988 mass executions where he served on the commission that saw over 5,000 people killed, according to the AP.

“I am proud of being a defender of human rights and of people’s security and comfort as a prosecutor wherever I was,” Raisi said in the press conference on Monday.

“Today in the presidential post, I feel obligated to defend human rights,” he said in the press conference.

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