Iranian president optimistic Biden will renew nuclear deal, slams Trump as “stupid terrorist”
Iran has joined the chorus cheering on the departure of former President Donald Trump from the White House, referring to him as a “stupid terrorist.” Iranian President Hassan Rouhani also called upon President Joe Biden to renew the 2015 Iran nuclear deal negotiated by former President Barack Obama.
In a statement on Iran’s state-run PressTV, Rouhani accused Trump of engaging in “state terrorism,” for killing Major General Qasem Soleimani, the leader of the Quds Force, Iran’s clandestine operations unit. Soleimani is understood to have been personally responsible for the deaths and injuries of American troops, and was instrumental in turning Iran into the world’s principal state sponsor of terrorism.
During Biden’s run for the Oval Office, the now-President stated that he would not have approved the strike on Soleimani, which also killed Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the leader of the Iraq-based Hezbollah Brigade. Soleimani and al-Muhandis were conducting a meeting in Baghdad when Trump greenlit the airstrike that killed them, along with other suspected terrorists. Soleimani was responsible for financing and coordinating strikes on U.S. forces in Iraq.
In Rouhani’s remarks before a cabinet meeting in Tehran, the Iranian leader condemned the attack on Soleimani and expressed his wishes for Biden to revert to Obama-era policies which were friendlier to Iran, reports Breitbart.
“We had [never before] seen a U.S. president explicitly announcing that he had assassinated a senior military commander who was a guest in a third country,” Rouhani said. “With what this stupid terrorist did, ‘state terrorism’ was inscribed on the forehead of the United States. Today is the end of the political life of the individual who violated international law and [American] obligations for four years.”
In addition to neutralizing Soleimani, the Trump administration imposed numerous sanctions on Iran in response to its destabilization of neighbouring countries including Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen, curtailing Iran’s influence in the region. Outgoing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s efforts also allowed for Middle Eastern nations to develop new partnerships with each other and end hostilities with Israel.
Rouhani blamed the Trump administration for the country’s economic problems, which have only worsened with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Leaked data suggests that the number of Iranian dead from the coronavirus is many times the official number, which currently stands at over 57,000 deaths.
“It has become evident to our nation and the whole world that the policy of economic terrorism and maximum pressure has failed 100 percent,” Rouhani said in regards to U.S. sanctions. “Of course, the Iranian people suffered under the pressure and economic war, but they endured [the hardships] and, through resistance, did not allow the enemies’ goals to be realized.”
Rouhani expressed optimism that the Biden administration will offer more flexibility to the regime and renew the canceled nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Under the deal, which was brokered while Biden was Vice President, Iran expanded its economic reach, even using some of its windfalls to finance international terrorism. The deal ultimately failed to prevent Iran from continuing to develop its nuclear weapons program, prompting President Trump to cancel the agreement.
According to Breitbart, Iran appears to have suggested that Biden would enact an “unconditional” return to the agreement.
“If they (American statesmen) sincerely return to the law and show their honesty in practice, we will also fulfill our own commitments,” Rouhani said. “Trump is gone but the JCPOA is alive. All the attempts of American extremists, regional reactionaries, and the Zionists were for the JCPOA to die, but today the JCPOA is alive. Trump and his dark record are history, but the JCPOA is still alive.”
“Today, thanks to God, Trump’s black page will be closed forever, and we say thanks to God when any oppressor is overthrown,” Rouhani said.
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