Iran says Trump must change ‘harmful’ pressure policy, warns of ‘expansion of war’
Top official Mohammad Javad Zarif says next US president should ‘show that he is not following the wrong policies of the past’
TEHRAN — Iran on Saturday urged US President-elect Donald Trump to reconsider the “maximum pressure” policy he pursued against Tehran during his first term.
“Trump must show that he is not following the wrong policies of the past,” Iranian Vice President for Strategic Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif told reporters.
Meanwhile Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that the wars in Gaza and Lebanon, where Israel is battling Tehran-backed terror groups, could spill over beyond the Middle East.
“The world should know that in case of the expansion of war, its harmful effects will not be limited only to the West Asia region; insecurity and instability can spread to other regions, even far away,” he said.
Zarif, a veteran diplomat who previously served as Iran’s foreign minister, helped seal the 2015 nuclear accord between Tehran and Western powers, including the United States.
The deal, however, was torpedoed in 2018 after the US unilaterally withdrew from it under Trump, who later reimposed sanctions on Tehran.
In response, Iran rolled back its obligations under the deal and has since enriched uranium up to 60 percent, a short step from nuclear grade.
Tehran has repeatedly denied Western countries’ accusations that it is seeking to develop a nuclear weapon, while the latter have said there is no plausible civilian use for the highly enriched uranium.
Zarif also said on Saturday that Trump’s political approach towards Iran had led to the surge in enrichment levels.
“He must have realized that the maximum pressure policy that he initiated caused Iran’s enrichment to reach 60 percent from 3.5 percent,” he said.
“As a man of calculation, he should do the math and see what the advantages and disadvantages of this policy have been and whether he wants to continue or change this harmful policy,” Zarif added.
During his first term, Trump also ordered the killing of revered Iranian commander, Qasem Soleimani, who led the Revolutionary Guards’ foreign operations arm, the Quds Force.
Soleimani was killed in a drone strike while he was in the Iraqi capital Baghdad in January 2020.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei on Thursday said he hoped the president-elect’s return to the White House would allow Washington to “revise the wrong approaches of the past” — though he stopped short of mentioning Trump’s name.
On Tuesday, Trump told reporters he was “not looking to do damage to Iran.”
“My terms are very easy. They can’t have a nuclear weapon. I’d like them to be a very successful country,” he said after he cast his ballot.
Trump’s victory comes as Iran has repeatedly conducted direct attacks on Israel, leading to Israeli retaliation and raising fears of further regional spillover of the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon.
