Any Mistake by US, Allies Will Face Firm Response

The Iranian nation will not tolerate any insecurity and crisis in the region and any mistake by the United States and its allies will face Iran’s firm response, making them regret, President Ebrahim Raisi said. 
“This message shall be carried by reporters to the whole world that the Islamic Iran is more powerful today than all times and the US is weaker than ever,” he said in an address to the people of Kermanshah city on Thursday, President.ir reported.
His remarks came after US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid signed a joint pledge on Thursday, as part of a so-called “Jerusalem Declaration”, to deny Iran nuclear arms, an ambition the Islamic Republic strongly denies cherishing. 
“The United States stresses that integral to this pledge is the commitment never to allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon, and that it is prepared to use all elements of its national power to ensure that outcome,” the statement read. 
Speaking in an interview with an Israeli TV channel, Biden said he would use force as a last resort for this purpose. 
Iran agreed to restrict its peaceful nuclear activity in return for sanctions relief, under a 2015 deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. 
Former US president Donald Trump, however, abandoned the agreement ad reimposed sweeping sanctions that prompted Tehran to react by exceeding its nuclear limits. 
Negotiations in Vienna, Austria, to revive the JCPOA have reached an impasse, although efforts to tackle the final differences continue, chiefly by the European Union as coordinator of the deal. 
Both Tehran and Washington put the onus on each other to make the required political decisions. 
Iran blames the US for lack of initiative and refusal to meet its obligations while American officials accuse Iran of making extraneous demands outside the purview of the 2015 deal.
“We’ve laid out for the leadership of Iran what we’re willing to accept in order to get back into the JCPOA. We’re waiting for their response. When that will come, I’m not certain. But we are not going to wait forever,” Biden said following his Thursday meeting, according to Reuters. 
A US official also said if Iran is not ready to sign the deal that has been negotiated in Vienna, “we will continue to increase our sanctions pressure, we will continue to increase Iran’s diplomatic isolation.”
The Iranian president highlighted the US officials’ admission of the failure of Trump’s maximum pressure campaign, saying such methods will not work on Iran. 
“You have tried us with sanctions and threats and why would you test this past experience again?” Raisi said. 

Humiliating Relations 

Biden also stressed on his first trip to the Middle East as president the importance of furthering ties between Israel and its Arab neighbors.
He stressed to Lapid during his meeting the importance of Israel becoming “totally integrated” in the region.
The American president was scheduled to set off for Saudi Arabia as part of a bid for a Saudi-Israeli rapprochement under US auspices. 
The Israeli prime minister asked Biden to deliver a message to the Arab leaders that “our hand is outstretched for peace.”
“Your visit to Saudi Arabia is important for Israel and for the region,” Lapid added. 
In addition to Egypt and Jordan, who signed peace treaties with Israel in 1979 and 1994 respectively, four countries from the Arab league, namely Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Sudan and Morocco, established diplomatic relations with the regime in 2020 as a result of US-brokered dialogue.
An agreement with the Saudis, an economic and Islamic epicenter in the Mideast, would be even more significant for Israel. 
Raisi also warned Israel against coveting any part of this region. 
“Normalization and establishing diplomatic relations will not provide security for the Zionist regime by any means,” he said. 
He also regretted that some regional countries are transiting insecurity and terrorism from the west and the US to the region.
“Americans and their allies must know that the Muslim nations of the region despise their governments’ humiliating relations with the United States which results in the despoliation of their resources.”
The president stressed that Iran’s military power and capabilities bring about security for the region while the interference of foreigners and the US provides no benefit but crisis and insecurity.