These days, Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, express their joy over the U.S. political development. They obviously raise their expectations about the U.S. future administration while the recent U.S. Presidential elections’ fate is still unclear.
“And the world is watching whether the new leaders will abandon disastrous lawless bullying of [the] outgoing regime—and accept multilateralism, cooperation, and respect for [the] law,” Zarif tweeted. However, he immediately added that “Deeds matter most,” showing his concerns over the future.
All the while, Iranian authorities like the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani have tried to show themselves as indifferent to the U.S. developments.
“Regardless of the outcome, one thing is absolutely clear, the definite political, civil, and moral decline of the U.S. regime,” Khamenei reacted to the U.S. elections on Twitter.
However, Rouhani implicitly showed his eagerness to renegotiate with the “Great Satan,” the term Iranian officials use to address the U.S.
“We hope those who sanctioned have grasped that their path was wrong, and mistake and they will not obtain their goals. We hope that the three-year experience would be a lesson to them that will make the next U.S. administration to succumb to the law and regulation, and return to all its commitments,” Rouhani said.
Notably, Tehran time and again announced that it would not obey the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and flagrantly put restrictions aside and resume provocative uranium enrichment.
Furthermore, in his January 22 interview with state television’s Channel Four, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization Ali-Akbar Salehi revealed that his government did deceive foreign nuclear negotiators and watchdog over Arak heavy water facility.
Back in 2011, in his book titled “National Security and Nuclear Diplomacy,” Rouhani exposed that Tehran was exploiting nuclear negotiations to reach a point of no return in its nuclear program.
“While we were talking with the Europeans in Tehran, we were installing equipment in parts of the facility in Isfahan. In fact, by creating a calm environment, we were able to complete the work in Isfahan,” Rouhani wrote.
In other words, Iranian officials openly admitted that they do not recognize any principle and breach all norms to obtain their goals. On the other hand, they have proven that no one can trust them, and they merely understand the language of firmness and power.
In this respect, Khamenei is right that there is no matter who will take the U.S. office. Because, under the ayatollahs’ rule, Tehran will continue its attempts for achieving nuclear weapons, destabilizing the Middle East, and blackmailing the world by terrorism, whether Republicans govern the U.S. or Democrats.
Therefore, it is very important that the world keep pressures on the Iranian government to end its foreign adventurism and domestic suppression, Iranian dissidents argue. In April 2011, former U.S. President Barak Obama highlighted that the dictators are the most unstable rulers. “The power of the masses can topple autocrats,” he said.
In this context, as the Iranian government sees more domestic protests and public fury, betting on the ayatollahs’ collapsing economy is the latest option in front of foreign companies and investors.
Trusting the fraudulent and corrupt leaders of Iran would just lead the Middle East to more destabilization. Dissidents point out that the people of Iran expect the international community to respect their desire for a democratic government, which respects people’s lives.
“Neda [Agha-Soltan] died with open eyes. Shame on us who live with closed eyes,” said the late U.S. Senator John McCain in June 2009. Iranians hope that foreign officials would not be more disgrace about their approaches toward Iranian protests.
