Iran downplays Donald Trump's US election victory

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the outcome of the US election did not matter to his country, state media reported on Thursday, amid heightened tensions with Washington over its support for Iran’s arch-enemy Israel.

Donald Trump‘s return to the White House after his election victory this week could mean tougher enforcement of US oil sanctions Iranwhich he initiated in 2018 after abandoning the nuclear pact between Tehran and world powers.

The Biden administration has strongly supported Israel in its wars against Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as Israeli actions against Iran itself.

Some analysts believe Trump will give Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a freer hand in dealing with Iran.

“For us, it does not matter at all who won the US elections, because our country and system depend on his inner strength and a great and honorable nation,” Pezeshkian said late on Wednesday, as quoted by state news agency IRNA.

Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump takes the stage after the early results of the 2024 US presidential election at the Palm Beach County Convention Center, in West Palm Beach, Florida, US, November 6, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/CALLAGHAN O’ HARE)

It was his first comment on Trump’s election victory.

“We will not be narrow-minded in developing our relations with other countries (while) we have made it our priority to develop relations with Islamic countries and neighboring countries,” Pezeshkian said.

It was not immediately clear whether Pezeshkian was also referring to the United States, with which Iran does not have diplomatic relations. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in all state affairs, has banned direct talks with the United States.

Downplaying the elections

An Iranian government spokesman previously downplayed the importance of the US elections, while a Revolutionary Guard commander expressed readiness for a confrontation.

Iranian leaders’ biggest concern is the potential for Trump to enable Netanyahu to attack Iran’s nuclear sites, carry out assassinations and reimpose his “maximum pressure” policy through increased oil sanctions industry of the country.

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However, some suspect that Trump will be cautious about the possibility of war.

In 2018, the then-Trump administration left Iran’s 2015 nuclear pact with six world powers and reimposed tough sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to violate the pact’s nuclear limits.

International sanctions on Tehran’s nuclear program forced Tehran to reach the 2015 pact, in which Iran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for lifting punitive measures.

Trump’s tough stance could force Ayatollah Khamenei to approve talks “directly or indirectly” with the United States, two Iranian officials told Reuters.

In September, Pezeshkian said Tehran was ready to end its nuclear standoff with the West, which accuses the country of seeking capacity to develop nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.