Iran’s Foreign Ministry has strongly denied US claims that Iran was involved in an alleged plot to kill President-elect Donald Trump, dismissing the charge as a way to “complicate matters” between the US and Iran.
On Friday, the US Justice Department announced charges over the alleged plot, claiming that Iranian officials asked an Afghan national who currently resides in Tehran to surveil and ultimately assassinate Trump.
“Who can in their right mind believe that a supposed assassin SITS IN IRAN and talks online to the FBI?!” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X.
Araghci said that Iran respects the choice the American people made in the presidential election. “The American people have made their decision. And Iran respects their right to elect the President of their choice. The path forward is also a choice. It begins with respect,” he said.
Araghchi also reiterated that Iran doesn’t seek nuclear weapons and signaled Iran is willing to talk with the US about its nuclear program. “Iran is NOT after nuclear weapons, period. This is a policy based on Islamic teachings and our security calculations. Confidence-building is needed from both sides. It is not a one-way street,” he said.
Also on Saturday, Javad Zarif, Iran’s vice president for strategic affairs, called on Trump not to continue the “maximum pressure” policy against Iran. “Trump must show that he is not following the wrong policies of the past,” said Zarif, a veteran diplomat who served as Iran’s foreign minister during Trump’s previous time in office.
The previous Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” policy against Iran involved withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal, imposing crippling economic sanctions, and assassinating Iranian Quds Force Commander Gen. Qasem Soleimani.
Republicans have accused President Biden of being soft on Iran, but he has essentially followed the same policies. The problem for the US is that Iran found oil markets in Asia that aren’t afraid of US sanctions, a result of the US sanctioning so many different countries.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the next Trump administration is expected to “renew” the maximum pressure on Iran. Brian Hook, who oversaw Iran policy in the first Trump administration, is reportedly in charge of the transition for the State Department.
