TEHRAN (AFP) — On Thursday, Iran described Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election as an opening for Washington to reconsider “mistaken policies.”
Set to reenter the White House in January after defeating Vice President Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s election, Trump previously enacted a “maximum pressure” approach toward Iran during his initial term.
“We have had very difficult experiences with various U.S. administrations’ policies,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told IRNA, the state news agency. Trump’s win, he noted, presented an opportunity “to reassess past policies.”
Iran and the U.S. have been rivals since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which toppled the Western-supported shah, with tensions reaching a high during Trump’s first term from 2017 to 2021.
Ahead of Trump’s confirmation on Wednesday, Iran dismissed the U.S. election’s impact on its policies. “The overall policies of the U.S. and Iran are set,” government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said. “The presidency doesn’t alter them, and the public’s livelihood is safeguarded,” she added.
Trump’s first term saw the U.S. unilaterally withdraw from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and enforce severe sanctions on Iran. In 2020, during his tenure, the U.S. conducted an airstrike that killed respected Iranian general Qasem Soleimani at Baghdad’s airport.
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