Raisi says he should be rewarded for defending people's rights and security

DUBAI - Iranian President-Elect Ebrahim Raisi said on Monday that he should be rewarded for defending people's rights and security, speaking in Tehran in his first news conference since his victory in Friday's election.

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.