Iran's Raisi urges U.S., EU to fulfil pledges under nuclear deal

Iranian President-Elect Ebrahim Raisi said on Monday that the United States violated the 2015 nuclear deal and the European Union failed to fulfil its commitments, speaking in his first news conference since his victory in Friday's election.

The United States and the EU should fulfil their pledges under the deal, Raisi said in Tehran.

FOREIGN POLICY NOT TO BE LIMITED BY 2015 NUCLEAR DEAL

Raisi said his country's foreign policy will not be limited by the 2015 nuclear agreement.

"Our foreign policy will not be limited to the nuclear deal," Raisi said in Tehran. "We will have interaction with the world."

"We will not tie the Iranian people's interests to the nuclear deal."

"I SHOULD BE REWARDED FOR DEFENDING PEOPLE'S RIGHTS"

Raisi said that he should be rewarded for defending people's rights and security.

He said that, as a jurist, he had "always defended human rights", adding that U.S. sanctions against him for alleged human rights abuses had been imposed on him for doing his job as a judge.

He also said Iran's ballistic missile programme was non-negotiable, despite demands by the West and Gulf countries that it be included in ongoing nuclear talks in Vienna.