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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the terms of a memorandum of understanding reached with the U.S. are in Iran’s favor and that $6 billion blocked in Qatar will be returned to the country.
Pezeshkian made the remarks during a speech at the 33rd Monetary and Banking Policies Symposium, held at the Central Bank conference hall in Tehran.
He said the clauses in the agreement text reached with the U.S. favor Iran.
“With the negotiation process beginning today, our $6 billion blocked in Qatar will return,” Pezeshkian said.
Iranian funds from oil sales in the banks of some countries had been blocked because of U.S. sanctions.
Tehran has sought the lifting of sanctions and the release of blocked funds in its talks with Washington.
Pezeshkian said the U.S.’s only demand was that Iran should not have a nuclear bomb.
He said this issue had been raised many times by former Iranian leader Ali Khamenei and repeated that it was already something Iran did not want.
Pezeshkian said Iran’s nuclear activities would continue.
“What is certain is that we will never give up our right to uranium enrichment, and the other side will have to accept this,” he said.
He said Iran had previously been told it should give up its missiles, but that Iran’s right on this issue is now accepted.
“In the past, they told us that we had to give up our missiles, but today they have accepted this right of the Iranian people,” Pezeshkian said.
Speaking at another program in Tehran, Pezeshkian said the U.S. and Israel had targeted social unity and solidarity in Iran.
He argued that this unity had forced the U.S. to negotiate.
Pezeshkian made the remarks at a ceremony marking the 45th anniversary of the death of former Defense Minister Mostafa Chamran.
“The enemy did not believe that unity and solidarity would form among the people,” Pezeshkian said.
“Our social unity forced the U.S. to negotiate. Our greatest strength is the unity of our people,” he added.
Pezeshkian also pointed to the economic difficulties faced by the public in Iran.
“I am worried about failing to satisfy the people and about people taking to the streets in protest,” he said.
Pezeshkian said he was responsible for solving the public’s problems and that this responsibility belonged to him.
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