Iran on Thursday described Donald Trump’s return to the White House as an opportunity for the United States to reconsider “wrong policies” of the past.
Trump, who will assume office again in January after defeating Vice President Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s election, previously implemented a “maximum pressure” policy on Iran during his first term.
“We have very bitter experiences with the policies and approaches of different U.S. governments in the past,” said Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei, as reported by state news agency IRNA. Trump’s re-election, he added, presents an opportunity “to review previous wrong policies.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian commented that Trump’s victory “makes no difference” to Iran, emphasizing Iran’s focus on fostering relations with Islamic and neighboring countries.
“We will not have a narrow or restricted view when developing our relations with other countries,” he said, as quoted by IRNA.
The relationship between Iran and the United States has been tense since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which ousted the Western-backed shah. Tensions escalated significantly during Trump’s first term from 2017 to 2021.
Before the election results were announced, Iran had dismissed the U.S. election outcome as inconsequential. “The general policies of the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran are fixed,” stated government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani. “It doesn’t matter who becomes president. Plans have already been set so that there is no change in people’s livelihood,” she added.
During Trump’s first term, he unilaterally pulled the United States out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and imposed stringent sanctions on Iran. In 2020, Trump’s administration also carried out a strike at Baghdad airport that killed prominent Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps General Qasem Soleimani.
