Iran urges Trump to change "maximum pressure" policy of first presidency

Tehran, Iran - Iran on Saturday urged US President-elect Donald Trump to reconsider the "maximum pressure" policy he pursued against Tehran during his first term.

Iranian Vice President for Strategic Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif has urged US president-elect Donald Trump to take a different approach toward Tehran in his second term in office.
Iranian Vice President for Strategic Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif has urged US president-elect Donald Trump to take a different approach toward Tehran in his second term in office.  © AFP

"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 on Saturday.

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 US.

The deal, however, was torpedoed in 2018 after the US unilaterally withdrew from it under Trump, who later reimposed sanctions on Tehran.

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In response, Iran rolled back its obligations under the deal and has since enriched uranium up to 60%, just 30% lower than nuclear-grade.

Tehran has repeatedly denied Western countries' accusations that it is seeking to develop a nuclear weapon.

"The American people, including most Muslims, have spoken loud and clear in rejecting a shameful year of US complicity in Israel's genocide in Gaza and carnage in Lebanon. Let us hope that the incoming administration of Donald Trump and JD Vance will stand against war as pledged, and will heed the clear lesson given by the American electorate to end wars and prevent new ones," Zarif wrote on X on Wednesday.

"Iran, having shown its resolve and ability to stand up to any aggression, will not be swayed by threats, but will be cognizant of respect."

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President-elect Donald Trump has said he does not want Tehran to have a nuclear weapon but otherwise wants Iran to be "a very successful country."
President-elect Donald Trump has said he does not want Tehran to have a nuclear weapon but otherwise wants Iran to be "a very successful country."  © JIM WATSON / AFP

Zarif also said on Saturday that Trump's political approach towards Iran led to the surge in uranium enrichment levels.

"He must have realized that the maximum pressure policy that he initiated caused Iran's enrichment to reach 60% from 3.5%," 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.

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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 spokesperson 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" – stopping 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 amid fears of wider war as Israel continues its US-backed genocide in Palestine, assault on Lebanon, and strikes across the Middle East – including on Iran, Syria, and Yemen.

Cover photo: Collage: JIM WATSON / AFP & AFP

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