Araghchi says Iran respects Americans right to elect president

Araghchi says Iran respects Americans' right to elect president

TEHRAN - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday that the Islamic Republic of Iran "respects" the rights of the American people in electing their own president.

"The American people have made their decision. And Iran respects their right to elect the President of their choice," Araqchi wrote on X.

Republican candidate Donald Trump won the presidential election on November 5, defeating his Democratic rival Kamala Harris.   

Foreign Minister Araghchi also pointed to possible talks between Iran and the United States under incoming Donald Trump's administration over Tehran's nuclear program to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).  

"The path forward is also a choice. It begins with respect," the foreign minister noted.

The chief diplomat also reiterated Tehran's long-held policy that the Islamic Republic does not seek to produce nuclear arms, saying, "Iran is NOT after nuclear weapons, period." He added, "This is a policy based on Islamic teachings and our security calculations."

Trump, who was president from 2017 to 2021, pulled out the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018. He abandoned the JCPOA although Iran was fully observing the terms of the multilateral agreement.  

Araghchi also highlighted the importance of reciprocal confidence-building measures in case the two countries decide to enter talks to discuss contentious issues.    

"Confidence-building is needed from both sides. It is not a one-way street," the foreign minister asserted.

Araghchi also drew a comparison between the Israeli assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31, just several hours after the inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and the new accusation against Iran that the Islamic Revolution Guards Crops had recruited a person to assassinate Donald Trump, saying,  "Remember the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran right after our President's inauguration? Everyone knows who did it and why. Now, with another election, a new scenario is fabricated with the same goal: as a killer does not exist in reality, scriptwriters are brought in to manufacture a third-rate comedy. Who can in their right mind believe that a supposed assassin SITS IN IRAN and talks online to the FBI?!

Analysts and diplomats firmly believe that Israel assassinated Haniyeh in Tehran in order to drag Iran into a full-fledged war in which the United States would side with the Tel Aviv regime.

source: tehrantimes.com