Iran’s president said Wednesday that the U.S. “trampled upon” Tehran's nuclear accord with world powers in a speech to world leaders at the United Nations.
Ebrahim Raisi addressed the U.N. General Assembly as talks to revive the nuclear deal approached a take-it-or-leave-it moment. Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the deal in 2018 has led Tehran to abandon over time every limitation the accord imposed on its nuclear enrichment.
European Union officials have warned the window for securing a deal is about to close. The 2015 agreement that was brokered under the Obama administration placed curbs on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in sanctions relief, which Tehran insists it has never received.
“America trampled upon the nuclear accord," said Raisi, who was sworn-in as president only a year ago. His speech marks the first time he has taken the podium at the U.N. in his role as president. Last year, he delivered remarks to the assembly virtually due to COVID-19 restrictions.
In 2019, Raisi was sanctioned by the United States in part over his involvement in the mass execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988, a little over a decade after the 1979 Islamic Revolution overthrew the country's shah and ushered in its current theocratic-led system.
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Associated Press writers Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, and Joseph Krauss contributed to this report.
