On April 15, President Hassan Rouhani told a crowd in Sistan and Baluchistan province that international sanctions on Iran are already “breaking down” and will shatter in the coming months. Negotiators from Iran and the world’s six major powers — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States — are scheduled to meet in May to draft a final agreement on Iran’s nuclear program. The interim deal set July 20 as the deadline for brokering a comprehensive agreement. The following are excerpts from Rouhani’s speech.
“Today, we are witnessing the breaking down of some of the sanctions and more importantly the confession and acknowledgement of the world, in the framework of an agreement with the P5+1 [world’s six major powers], which recognizes the right of the Iranian people to nuclear technology and enrichment.
“The first steps have been taken for removing the sanctions with the wisdom that the government has taken from you, the people, and today we are witnessing the collapse of a part of the sanctions.
“We already see the unraveling.
“In these negotiations we prove to the world that what has been said about Iran in the past are nothing, but lies; Iran has not been after nuclear weapons and will not be after them, yet we will continue scientific and technical development and break the cruel and anti-human rights sanctions step by step.
“Iran has never sought and will never seek nuclear weapons."