TEHRAN — Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has said there is no difference between incumbent U.S. President Donald Trump and his challenger Joe Biden.

“Whether Trump or Biden becomes president, there will be no difference in the main policy of harming the Iranian nation,” Ghalibaf said on Sunday.

“Therefore, we need to concentrate on empowering the Iranian nation,” he added.

The United States is set to hold presidential election on November 3, 2020.

It will be the 59th quadrennial presidential election. Voters will select presidential electors who in turn will vote on December 14, 2020, to either elect a new president and vice president or reelect the incumbents Trump and Mike Pence respectively.

Former vice president Biden secured the Democratic nomination over his closest rival, Senator Bernie Sanders, in a competitive primary which featured the largest field of presidential candidates for any political party in the modern era of American politics.

Some observers believe a Biden victory could propel the U.S. to return to the 2015 nuclear agreement, which Trump withdrew in May 2018. Others argue that there’s no fundamental difference between Trump and Biden when it comes to the United States’ Iran policy.

According to the parliament speaker, Iran must not postpone its development and improving people’s livelihood based on what would happen in the West.

“Experience shows that whenever we responded passively to the hostile measures of the United States, the pressure of sanctions on the livelihood of the people increased,” Ghalibaf said.

“Therefore, it is necessary to take active, clever, and effective measures in order to prevent more pressure on our beloved people,” he added.

MH/PA