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Iran’s Rouhani ‘very pleased’ to see Trump leave office

December 17, 2020 at 11:23 am

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in Tehran, Iran on 2 December 2020 [Iranian Presidency/Anadolu Agency]

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said yesterday that he is very pleased to see Donald Trump “the rouge” leave the White House but is not happy with the appointment of Joe Biden.

“We are not very excited with Biden coming, but we are very happy with Trump going,” Rouhani said during a cabinet meeting.

Rouhani added that his country is ready to return to all its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal if the other parties fulfil their obligations.

“We negotiate in a difficult and sensitive way, but if we reach an agreement, we will abide by our commitments,” he said, adding that the Islamic Republic’s conditions are different today from the ones when the country negotiated the deal in 2015.

The Iranian president said Tehran is stronger and more capable now than in 2015.

“Our strength today cannot even be compared to that time,” he said, adding that Iran’s missiles, military and nuclear programmes have become much more empowered.

“We have the best air defence system and the best missile system. Our conditions are different from 2015,” he added.

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