Iran has expressed a willingness to engage with Donald Trump, urging the president-elect to consider adopting new policies toward the country following accusations from the US regarding Iran’s involvement in a purported plot to assassinate him.
Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Vice President for Strategic Affairs, called on Mr. Trump to reconsider the “maximum pressure” strategy he applied against the Islamic Republic during his first term.
“Trump needs to demonstrate that he is not continuing the misguided policies of the past,” Mr. Zarif remarked to journalists.
These comments followed US allegations accusing Iran of conspiring to eliminate Mr. Trump.
“As a fictional killer does not exist in reality, scriptwriters are employed to create a third-rate comedy,” Mr. Araghchi stated regarding the US claims.
Earlier, his ministry labeled the accusations as “completely unfounded”.
Diplomatic relations between Iran and the US were severed shortly after the Islamic revolution of 1979.
Mr. Zarif, an experienced diplomat who previously served as foreign minister, played a key role in finalizing the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and Western powers, including the US.
However, in 2018, the deal was dismantled after the US withdrew unilaterally under Mr. Trump, who subsequently reimposed sanctions on Iran.
In retaliation, Iran scaled back its commitments under the agreement and has since enriched uranium to 60%, which is only 30% below the threshold for nuclear-grade material.
Iran has consistently denied Western accusations of pursuing a nuclear weapon.
Mr. Zarif highlighted that it was Mr. Trump’s political tactics towards Iran that precipitated the increase in enrichment levels.
“He must recognize that the maximum pressure policy he initiated caused Iran’s enrichment to escalate from 3.5% to 60%, and led to an increase in its centrifuges,” he stated.
‘Misguided approaches’
“As someone who values calculations, he should assess the gains and losses of this policy and decide whether to persist or alter this detrimental strategy,” Mr. Zarif added.
In December 2017, Mr. Trump acknowledged Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and the following year, he relocated the American embassy there.
He also recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, territory captured from Syria in 1967 and later annexed by Israel.
During his first term, Mr. Trump ordered the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, a prominent Iranian military leader who commanded the Quds Force, the foreign operations branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Mr. Soleimani was killed in a drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020.
Since the US-supported shah’s removal in 1979, Iran has not recognized Israel.
On Thursday, foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei expressed hope that Mr. Trump’s potential return to power would prompt the US to “reevaluate the misguided approaches of the past,” though he refrained from directly mentioning Mr. Trump.
On Tuesday, after casting his ballot on US election day, Mr. Trump told reporters that he was “not looking to do damage to Iran.”
“My conditions are straightforward. They cannot possess a nuclear weapon. I would like them to thrive as a very successful nation,” he stated.
Iran maintains that its nuclear activities are for peaceful and civilian purposes.
Mr. Trump’s electoral success followed direct confrontations between Iran and Israel, increasing concerns of further regional conflicts stemming from the situations in Gaza and Lebanon.
