Iran will be one of the most impacted nations by the US election results, but according to the Tehran Times, it makes no difference to Supreme Leader Khamenei:
Trump had raised the prospect of pulling out of the nuclear deal reached in July 2015 between Iran and six world powers, including the U.S.
“Unlike some of those in the world who have either been bemoaning or celebrating the results of the American elections, we are neither bemoaning nor celebrating because the results make no difference to us. Nor do we have worries, and by the grace of God, we are ready to encounter any likely incident,” the Leader asserted while addressing thousands of people.
The no-difference stance on the U.S. presidential seat makes more sense once seen through a historical lens.
The Leader noted as of the 1979 revolution, Washington, regardless of who was president, has been hostile to the Iranian nation.
“We have no judgment about this election (the U.S. presidential election) because America is the same America, and over the past 37 years either of the two parties which has been in office not only has done no good (to the Iranian nation), but has always been an evil to the Iranian nation.”
Ayatollah Khamenei also rapped the U.S. for its policies in the Middles East and wars it has waged against regional countries.
“In recent years, the U.S. has spent its people’s money on dishonorable wars, whose result is the massacre of tens of thousands of civilians and destruction of infrastructures in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Yemen,” the Leader stated.
President Rouhani also sees no change in plans, according to Vos Iz Neias?, a Yiddish news source:
Trump’s much publicized criticism of the nuclear deal and his campaign vows to renegotiate the terms and increase enforcement of the deal that put off the threat of Tehran developing atomic weapons has sent jitters across Iran.
“If a president is changed here and there, it has no impact on the will of Iran,” Rouhani said in a speech broadcast live on state TV from the city of Karaj, where he was visiting. “Based on the deal, we implement our commitment.”
Without mentioning Trump by name, Rouhani said that “the world is not under the will of a single individual and party. The reality of the world will impose many things on extremists.”
“Nobody should imagine it is possible to play with Iran,” he added.
The former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps is, perhaps, slightly less unperturbed, the Tehran Times reports:
“I am not optimistic, but we have to wait and see what he will do in practice in the incoming months and year,” said Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi on the sidelines of the International Conference on Geopolitical Crises in the Islamic World.
Rahim Safavi pointed out that it is still premature to “judge Mr. Trump’s policies, because he may change his mind about his campaign remarks.”
The overall impression is that Trump will pursue an economic agenda rather than practice an expansionist policy, the military veteran said.
“He’s a businessman and pays more attention to the economy and America’s internal affairs,” he noted.
Given the utter unpredictability of Trump, the Iranians have good reason to be nervous. That and the foam-at-the-mouth temperamentality of the GOP these days.
