When asked whether he could imagine meeting Biden, Raeissi replied on Monday at the first press conference after his election victory in Tehran: “No.” Biden ignored the Vienna nuclear agreement of 2015 and supported “inhuman sanctions” against the Iranian people. “Biden must first lift all sanctions in order to make the USA appear credible in Iran again.”
The 60-year-old had clearly won the presidential election on Friday with more than 60 percent of the vote. Raeissi was the top candidate of the hardliners and, after a strict selection of the candidates by the so-called Guardian Council, was virtually unrivaled. The turnout was below 50 percent – a negative record in presidential elections in Iran.