TEHRAN — Iran’s principled policies, which are based on countering dominance, will not be influenced by the U.S. election, says Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

“The results of the U.S. presidential election will not impact the principled policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Mehr on Saturday quoted Araghchi as saying, citing Radio Tehran. 

He said the United States’ bullying of other countries will not change with a change of its president but the methods and approaches can change in the White House with new presidents.

“It is natural that if new circumstances arise, the Islamic Republic too will adopt new, appropriate solutions commensurate with those circumstances in order to protect its interests and counter any possible pressure or threat,” the senior Iranian diplomat said.

Relations between Tehran and Washington have been on a precipitous downslide since 2018, when President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the multilateral nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Since the withdrawal, the U.S. has been imposing a steady stream of sanctions that have devastated Iran’s economy. Iran has retaliated by exceeding limits for heavy water and uranium enrichment it agreed to, but it has not walked away from the JCPOA.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, who is on his path to become the next president of the U.S., has so far promised that “if Iran returns to strict compliance with the nuclear deal, the U.S. would rejoin the agreement as a starting point for follow-on negotiations.”

“It is still too soon to talk about this,” Araghchi said about the prospects of a U.S. return to the JCPOA.

“There are many challenges ahead … We should wait and see what new policies the U.S. would adopt,” he added.

In recent weeks, Iran has strongly denied any preference in the U.S. presidential race.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced on November 3 that the Islamic Republic’s policy towards America will not be affected by who wins the U.S. election.

“Our policy towards the United States is clearly set and does not change with the change of individuals. It does not matter to us who comes and goes,” Ayatollah Khamenei said in a speech aired live on TV.

The Leader has also mocked the rancorous aftermath of Election Day in the U.S., saying the vote has exposed the reality of its democracy.

It came after Trump caused widespread disquiet, even among leaders of his own Republican Party, by flatly alleging fraud in the election.

Biden’s campaign team, on the other hand, accused Trump of seeking to deny the electoral rights of tens of thousands of postal voters.

“What a spectacle!” Ayatollah Khamenei tweeted late on Wednesday. “One says this is the most fraudulent election in US history. Who says that? The president who is currently in office.

“His rival says Trump intends to rig the election! This is how #USElections & US democracy are.”

Government spokesman Ali Rabiei said on Saturday that the new U.S. administration will have no sanctions choices to worsen the situation for Iranian people.

Rabiei said in a note that Washington’s “maximum pressure” policy has come to its end and the next government in the U.S. no longer has new sanctions to worsen the situation in Iran.

“At the time of writing this note when the outcome of U.S. 2020 presidential election has not yet been decided, apart from who will take over the presidency in the United States, one can review once again the origins of its principled policies that both the Leader of the Islamic Revolution and the Iranian president laid out last week,” he stated.

“The Leader noted that whoever becomes president of the United States will not affect our policies. President Rouhani also reminded that we do not care who is elected in the U.S., but the behavior of the United States is important for us,” the spokesman added.

Rabiei said the Trump administration has withdrawn from the JCPOA, incited a number of countries in the region and imposed unilateral and illegal sanctions on the Iranian people.

In spite of all the hardships created for the Iranian nation and government, Iran has shown that it will adhere to its principled policy in defending security concurrent with people’s livelihood, and will continue to stand by that principle and treaty firmly, the government spokesman noted.

The U.S. can return to a wise policy by respecting the rights of Iranians to welfare, health, and security and at the same time distancing itself from the current belligerent policies of the White House, Rabiei suggested, adding that such approach will also benefit the world peace and security and people of the region.

MH/PA