TEHRAN: Iran signalled an openness towards Donald Trump on Saturday, calling on the president-elect to adopt new policies towards it after Washington accused Tehran of involvement in a plot to kill him.

Vice President for Strategic Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif urged Trump to reassess the policy of “maximum pressure” he employed against the Islamic republic during his first term.

“Trump must show that he is not following the wrong policies of the past,” he told reporters.

Zarif, a veteran diplomat who previously served as foreign minister, helped to seal the 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and Western powers, including the US. However, the deal was torpedoed in 2018 after the United States unilaterally withdrew from the deal under Trump, who later re-imposed sanctions on Tehran.

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

‘Wrong approaches’

Zarif said it was Trump’s approach towards Iran that led to the surge in enrichment levels.

“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.

Also on Thursday, foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said he hoped the president-elect’s return to power would allow Washington to “revise the wrong app­r­o­a­ches of the past”, although he avoided mentioning Trump by name.

Published in Dawn, November 10th, 2024