SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The next U.S. administration should use the opportunity to compensate for President Donald Trump’s mistakes, Iranian state media quoted President Hassan Rouhani as saying on Sunday after Democrat Joe Biden captured the U.S. presidency.
“Trump’s damaging policy has been opposed … by the American people. The next U.S. administration should use the opportunity to make up for past mistakes,” President Hassan Rouhani was quoted as saying.
“Iran favors constructive interaction with the world,” Rouhani said.
Democrat Joe Biden won the election on Saturday after a victory in the battleground state of Pennsylvania put him over the threshold of 270 Electoral College votes.
Biden has pledged to rejoin Iran’s 2015 nuclear accord with six powers, a deal that was agreed by Washington when he was vice president, if Iran also returns to compliance.
Tensions have spiked between the longtime foes since 2018, when Trump exited the deal and reimposed sanctions that have crippled Iran’s economy.
In retaliation, Tehran has gradually reduced its commitments to the accord. But Iran’s clerical rulers have said those steps were reversible if Tehran’s interests were respected.
“The heroic resistance of the Iranian people proved that the policy of maximum pressure is doomed to failure,” Rouhani said.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told U.S. network CBS on Nov. 3 that he wanted the United States to rejoin the accord, but that “re-engagement does not mean renegotiation” because “if we wanted to do that [renegotiate], we would have done it with President [Donald] Trump four years ago.”
Zarif told CBS that “the statements by the Biden camp have been more promising, but we will have to wait and see”.
