TEHRAN – Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh has said it does not matter who will be elected as the president of the United States in the November elections.

“Iran’s policy toward the U.S. is precise, calculated and based on different aspects of the international system,” Khatibzadeh said at a press conference on Monday, according to Mehr.

He said the U.S. is responsible for the cowardly assassination of Iran’s top general Qassem Soleimani in the middle of the night in Iraq, and it should be held accountable.

“We do not recognize an individual named [Donald] Trump. We recognize the president of the U.S., and the U.S should be held accountable,” he asserted.

“At personal level, Trump has shown to the international community and his nation what characteristics he has… Decorum does not allow me to mention these characteristics,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman says.

“At personal level, Trump has shown to the international community and his nation what characteristics he has,” the spokesman said. “Decorum does not allow me to mention these characteristics.”

On January 3, Trump ordered drone strikes that martyred General Soleimani, chief of the IRGC Quds Force, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU).

In the early hours of January 8, the IRGC attacked Ain al-Assad airbase in western Iraq, where U.S. forces were stationed, as part of its promised “tough revenge” for the U.S. terror attack.

“It is the U.S. that needs to return to the correct path,” Khatibzadeh said. “It doesn’t matter to us whether the current or the next administration.”

He said Iran will neither forget nor forgive the assassination of General Soleimani. “Our authorities have said that we do not threaten but take action.”

Last month, IRGC Chief Major General Hossein Salami said the Americans should know that Iran will target whoever had a role in the cowardly assassination of General Soleimani. “This is a serious message,” Salami warned.

“These threats are serious and we’re not engaging in a war of words,” Salami said, adding, “Rather, we’ll leave everything to the field of action.”

In June, Tehran said 36 individuals were identified in connection with the Soleimani assassination.

“36 individuals who cooperated, collaborated, and participated in the assassination of Hajj Qassem, including political and military authorities of the U.S. and other countries, have been identified,” Tehran Prosecutor General Ali Alqasi-Mehr said.

Alqasi-Mehr named Trump as the key individual at the top of the list, saying his pursuit will continue even after his tenure as U.S. president.

Elsewhere in his Monday remarks, Khatibzadeh the U.S. must admit its wrongdoing with regard to withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The U.S. has exited the JPCOA and it should be wary of its responsibility, he said.

“Whether this or that administration comes to power, the path is clear,” the spokesman remarked. “They should admit to their wrongdoing, stop this economic war, return to their commitments and compensate for the damage.”

The Trump administration in May 2018 exited the JCPOA and started to implement a “maximum pressure” policy against Iran. Tehran has said the pressure has led to “maximum resistance” on Iran’s side.

MH/PA