TEHRAN - Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the special aide to the speaker of the Iranian Parliament on international affairs, said on Wednesday that the election of Donald Trump or his Democratic rival Joe Biden is not very important to Iran.

Amir-Abdollahian also said the panacea for the economic problems lies at home.

“The election of Trump or Biden is not very important to us, and that the solution to economic problems must be sought within the country,” the special aide was quoted by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) news agency as saying.

Amir-Abdollahian said American society is embellished by the media in such a way that it looks attractive, but, in reality, it faces a lot of problems such as poverty and lack of efficient healthcare.

“From the promises of the presidential candidates, one can see the chaotic internal situation in the United States of America, and the economic situation of this country had serious challenges even before Coronavirus,” Amir-Abdollahian asserted.

According to Amir-Abdollahian, the U.S. November election is very sensitive this time around.

“Part of this sensitivity has to do with Trump's behavior and treatment of his rivals. About 36 percent of American Republicans will traditionally vote for Trump. But the level of participation determines [the outcome] so that we can make realistic judgments about Democrats. But in the end, the issue of Republicans or Democrats coming to power is an internal issue and should not matter too much to us,” pointed out the special aide, noting that Iran should see how this election affects its national interests.

Amir-Abdollahian added, “As diplomats and those who follow political and international developments, we must see how this election will affect our national interests and at the regional and international level. European policies are now moving towards the Democrats, but the final forecast cannot be made until the 90th minute.” 

The special aide said Trump is the assassin of General Qassem Soleimani and that Iran cannot negotiate with him. 

“From Iran's point of view, Trump is the assassin of General Qassem Soleimani, and this issue is of special importance to the Iranian people. Some diplomats have suggested that some level of talks be held between Iran and the United States, but Trump's stupidity in ordering the assassination of Qassem Soleimani has eroded all trust in him,” noted Amir-Abdollahian, adding a Biden victory will not also mean that the Iran-U.S. relations will get better. 

General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force was assassinated by an American drone strike in early January near Baghdad’s international airport. The strike was ordered by President Trump. Following the assassination of General Soleimani, Iran showered a U.S. military base in western Iraq with several ballistic missiles, causing brain injury among tens of American servicemen. 

Amir-Abdollahian said, “Biden's coming to power does not mean that the situation will improve and all sanctions will be lifted. Despite the many services rendered to the United States by the Pahlavi government in the past, American policies have never been friendly with Iran.”

SM/PA