Raeisi Aims to Ensure Greater JCPOA Payoff

Presidential contender Ebrahim Raeisi said his prospective government would derive the full economic benefits Iran is entitled to under the July 2015 nuclear deal, chiding President Hassan Rouhani for failing to fulfill promises of economic recovery in his 2013 presidential campaign.

Raeisi, a longtime judge who currently heads Astan Qods Razavi, the organization managing the holy shrine of Imam Reza (PBUH), made the statement while speaking at an election rally in the northwestern city of Tabriz, IRNA reported.

"JCPOA was supposed to bear good fruits. They kept the nation waiting for four years, but so far its yields have been [negligible]," he said.

JCPOA stands for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the formal name of the deal.

"I promise to the people that my government would be able to cash the JCPOA check," he said.

Raeisi said his administration would capitalize on the country's domestic potentials to spur the economy.

"Our government would boost support for entrepreneurs and investors, because we firmly believe in domestic capacities for improving people's living conditions," he said.

Rouhani won the 2013 race on a platform of improving Iran's foreign relations and lifting tough international sanctions, which were imposed over unproven allegations by western powers that Tehran intended to build nukes.

His government negotiated the nuclear pact with world powers, which saw Iran accept curbs on its nuclear program in exchange for relief from crippling international sanctions.

Raeisi and the other high-profile principlist candidate, Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, have made grandiose economic vows in their campaigns. The two, who pose the most serious challenge to Rouhani's reelection bid, argue that the deal has not yet positively benefited the average Iranians.

Incumbent officials have put the blame for limited JCPOA benefits on the uncooperative behavior of the previous and current US administrations.