TEHRAN – President Hassan Rouhani has said his administration is “not excited” about U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, but it’s happy about the defeat of Donald Trump.

“Some say you are excited about Biden’s coming [into power]. No, we’re no excited, but we’re very happy about Trump’s leaving,” Rouhani said at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

He described Trump as a person who even blocked the provision of vaccines to patients because he did not adhere to any moral and humane principles.

The remarks came two days after the U.S. Electoral College voted to confirm the final electoral result of 306 to 232 in favor of Biden. 

Speaking from Wilmington, Delaware, Biden declared that “the rule of law, our constitution and the will of the people prevailed. Our democracy – pushed, tested, threatened – proved to be resilient, true and strong.”

Rouhani said, “The next U.S. administration can decide for itself. The path is open. If it wants to choose the right path, it’s ready. If it wants to choose the wrong path, it’s also ready.”

Earlier this month, Biden reiterated in a New York Times interview that the U.S. would rejoin the Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), if Iran returns to strict compliance.

Under the JCPOA, which Iran signed with six world powers in 2015, Iran agreed to scale down its nuclear program in exchange for termination of economic and financial sanctions.

Biden said a return to the agreement, which would include lifting the sanctions imposed by the Trump administration, would serve as a “starting point to follow-on negotiations”. 

Trump unilaterally withdrew from the deal in 2018, and has since imposed a campaign of “maximum pressure” sanctions against Iran.

Elsewhere in his Wednesday remarks, Rouhani said, “We hope that the message of the American people’s vote is clear to the new U.S. administration and that they know that this vote is for adhering to law, not law-breaking.”

He said Iran is after the establishment of security and stability across the world and seeks constructive interaction with countries that choose the path of interaction.

In remarks on Tuesday, Rouhani said Trump’s actions against the Islamic Republic were based on his illusions.

“Trump did not recognize the capabilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran at all and acted on his own illusions,” Rouhani said at a meeting of the government’s economic coordination headquarters in Tehran.

He said the nation’s resistance in the face of sanctions and the failure of Trump’s economic war against Iran proved “great realities” to the world and to Iran’s foes.

President Rouhani also urged Iran’s enemies to abandon the wrong and failed policy of sanctions against Tehran once and for all.

Trump’s defeat in the November presidential election was mainly the result of his failure in the economic war on Iran in addition to his other foreign policy failures, he added.

MH/PA