Iran on Thursday described Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election as an opportunity for the United States to reassess past “misguided policies.”
Trump, set to return to the White House in January after defeating US Vice President Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s election, had pursued a “maximum pressure” strategy on Iran during his first term.
“We have had very bitter experiences with the policies and approaches of various US administrations in the past,” foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA.
Trump’s win, he added, was a chance “to review previous misguided policies.”
Iran and the United States have been adversaries since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which overthrew the Western-backed Shah. Tensions escalated during Trump’s first term from 2017 to 2021.
Before Trump was declared the winner on Wednesday, Iran had dismissed the US election as irrelevant.
“The general policies of the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran are set,” said government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani.
“It doesn’t matter who becomes president. Plans are already in place to ensure stability in people’s livelihoods,” she added.
During his first term, Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and imposed stringent sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
In 2020, under Trump’s presidency, the United States conducted an airstrike at Baghdad airport, killing revered Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps general Qasem Soleimani.