The President described peace and stability in the region, respect for the rights of nations, non-aggression and non-interference in the internal affairs of countries, fighting terrorism, ending unilateralism, adherence to treaties and constructive interaction as clear and unchangeable policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and stressed that it is up to the new US administration to decide whether to approach or distance itself from these policies.
Speaking on Wednesday at a cabinet meeting, Dr Hassan Rouhani said that "the soon-to-be-ended US administration has distanced itself from us in all these policies," adding, "Our policy is based on constructive interaction, or in the Supreme Leader's terms, extensive interaction with the world, and those who started the enmity must put it aside themselves, and whenever they stop their hostile policies against Iran, things will be different".
"We have not cut ties with the United States, it is them who cut ties and started hostilities with Iran, they must change their policy themselves," said Rouhani.
The president said, "A man whose term of office is coming to an end was provoked from the beginning and left the nuclear deal with childish and delusional ideas, and the new person said that he was ready to return to the JCPOA. It is up to them; if they live up to their obligations, they can choose a new path".
At the same time, Dr Rouhani emphasised that we do not link our programs to their wish, these programs are linked to our principles. Now, if they move towards our principles, the path is clear, but if they do not want to, our programs, which are based on the continuation of the current process, will continue.
The President stated, "The basis of our plans is production, increase of exports, return of export currency to the country and abundance of goods inside, which will continue".
"The world has witnessed a remarkable event in the past week," he said, adding, "The arrogant policies that had humiliated some nations and even explicitly called them milk cow, and the policies that aroused the disgust of all the nations of the world and even the American people, were strongly opposed by the people in an election".
Dr Rouhani pointed out, "The government that dreamed of the fall of the Iranian system was itself overthrown in a very humiliating way, and today all countries, except for a few small countries that have always been part of this regime, are facing new conditions".
The President stated that we are witnessing a change in the expectations of the society and the people in our country as well, adding, "Of course, this hope is not based on how our country's relations with the United States are, because it is the basis of our relations with neighbouring and friendly countries, but the regime that is ending in the United States played a role as a nuisance with other countries and today it is felt that this nuisance is disappearing and the conditions have improved for countries to act on the basis of their own interests".
Referring to our country's good relations with neighbouring and friendly countries, Dr Rouhani said, "Today, it is felt that the atmosphere is more prepared for closer relations and better interaction with all friendly countries".
The president said that the problem with the soon-to-be-ended regime and government was that they were not very familiar with international politics and were almost carrying out the dictates of domestic extremists and the Zionist Regime, adding, "By paying attention to this person's addresses against Iran at international communities, one can understand that he uses the same phrases, expressions and words that the Zionist Regime uses, and all problems stemmed from the fact that they could not make decisions based on the interests of the American people and even the interests of the world".
Dr Rouhani pointed out, "The reason why they lost to their rivals in the elections was due to their inability to deal with coronavirus and to fight it instead of disregarding it, and that is why the American people faced many problems, and the other reason was disrupting the relations with the world. They even severed ties with European friends and China".
The president added, "America's humiliation in foreign policy was another factor that led to the outcome of the US election. The United States has never been so embarrassed in the history of international relations at the United Nations and the Security Council. It has been unprecedented in history to draft resolutions at the United Nations without anyone paying attention to them, and the American people have decided to make a change because of these humiliations".
Dr Rouhani described respect for the rights of nations, non-aggression and non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, countering terrorism, ending unilateralism and adherence to treaties as the main bases of the policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran and stated, "These policies do not change and regardless of the government that takes office in the United States, we will continue to follow the same policies, so the policy that the Islamic Republic of Iran had yesterday will continue today and tomorrow. It depends on the US government to approach or distant itself from these policies".
Emphasising that the principled policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran is the policy of most independent and important countries in the world, the President said, "Today, all countries oppose unilateralism and terrorism and demand respect in international relations".
The president noted, "A person whose term is coming to an end considered JCPOA to be the worst deal in history and they encouraged him to get out of it with the childish and delusional idea that he could overthrow Iran in two or three months, and those who have been newly elected have announced that they want to return to the deal. Iran and the P4+1 have been in the deal from the beginning, and it is up to them; if they live up to their obligations, they can choose a new path".
Emphasising that the enemies turned the sanctions into a terrorist war and even crossed the border and crossed our red line, Dr Rouhani said, "They cowardly martyred the greatest commander of our country. They spoke badly of the great Iranian nation. We hope the American people will work out the situation in such a way that we can see the White House return to the right path based on the interests of the American people and without humiliating other nations and adhering to their commitments".
"Our goal is to lift the sanctions and to have constructive interaction with the world, and wherever and whenever the opportunity arises, we will take action, and no one has the right to lose opportunities, and we will use the opportunities based on national interests and unity," he said.
Dr Rouhani pointed out, "During the last seven years, we have worked based on interaction with the world, and we have seen the fruits of it well in 2005 and 2006, which was one of the best conditions in terms of economic indicators in the last 40 years. In all indicators, we followed the Supreme Leader".
Expressing hope that better conditions for the future are ahead, the President said, "We will definitely seize every opportunity that is in the national interest and the lifting of sanctions, and these are not partisan issues, but in any step we want to take, we will heed the instructions of the Supreme Leader".
Dr Rouhani emphasised that the government is trying its best to balance the exchange rate and reduce the prices of basic goods, and said, "I thank all the economy ministers who stepped forward during the three years of economic war and did great things".