Mohsen Rezai, Sec.-Gen. Of Iran's Expediency Council: If Biden Does Not Rejoin The JCPOA, Lift Sanctions, We Will Move 'Full Steam Ahead' In Nuclear Field

Mohsen Rezai, a former commander in the IRGC and the current Secretary-General of Iran's Expediency Council, said in a December 28, 2020 interview on Al-Manar TV (Hizbullah-Lebanon) that the Arab countries that have normalized relations with Israel will be "punished" severely. He said that Israel is weak and evil, and that even a small missile strike on Israel would have a large effect. In addition, he said that Iran will not negotiate with anyone about its defensive or missile capabilities, and that if U.S. President-Elect Joe Biden does not lift the sanctions on Iran and rejoin the JCPOA, which he said Iran will "force" him to do, Iran will move "full steam ahead" in the nuclear field.

Mohsen Rezai: "We are planning to defend the security and stability of both Iran and the Persian Gulf."

Interviewer: "What security are you talking about, Mr. Mohsen Rezai? Only a short time ago, Morocco and Israel normalized [their relations], and Algeria is saying that Israel is now present on its border. So what is Iran doing about it? Most countries bordering Iran have normalized [relations] with Israel. I am talking about the UAE and many countries in the region."

Rezai: "What Israel are you talking about? It would crumble the moment it is hit by a single missile. Rest assured that as soon as two missiles fall in Tel Aviv, more than two million Israelis will leave that place."

Interviewer: "So what is holding you back from doing just that?"

Rezai: "The countries that normalized their relation [with Israel] and the U.S. will be left humiliated. Today's America is not the America of 20 years ago. It is a fraud that has managed to deceive the Arab countries. They will be punished in the most severe way, they will arrive at the worst possible outcome, and they will fail in the worst possible way. The Arab countries became friendly with the most evil element in the Islamic region. But they normalized [their relations] with the weakest element. Israel and the U.S. are not the same as they were 20 years ago.

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"We will not negotiate with anyone about our defensive capabilities or our missile capabilities. The Americans must return immediately [to the JCPOA] and lift the sanctions. Mr. Biden must lift the sanctions in his first year [in office]. They must compensate us for the losses and damages that our economy has incurred. As long as Biden does not take these two steps, there will be no negotiations about the nuclear issue."

Interviewer: "And what if President Biden does not manage to implement what he promised — to return to the nuclear agreement?"

Rezai: "We will move forward in the nuclear field. We will force America to take this step. This time it will be us who decide. Biden will not be able to do anything. We will force America and Europe to return to their commitments. We will move full steam ahead in the nuclear field."