Reactions to Trump's Victory in Iran: America 'Obligated to Implement the JCPOA'

In the first official reaction from an Iranian official to Donald Trump's victory, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, reminded Mr. Trump on Wednesday, November 10, that the U.S. is 'obligated to implement the JCPOA.' According to the official news agency of the Islamic Republic, IRNA, Zarif stated at a joint press conference with his Romanian counterpart, Lazar Comanescu, in Bucharest: 'Our custom is not to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. Given that Iran and the U.S. do not have political relations, what is important is that the next President of the United States is obligated to adhere to the multilateral commitments of the JCPOA, and we are confident that the international community will also expect this from the United States.' Donald Trump had previously called the nuclear agreement with Iran one of the 'worst deals' he had ever seen and has repeatedly criticized Barack Obama for it. During his election campaign, Trump criticized the return of frozen Iranian funds, stating that Obama and Hillary Clinton's foreign policy led to the rise of ISIS, instability in the Middle East, and Iran becoming a regional power. He also promised to tear up the nuclear deal with Iran if he won the election. In this context, Hassan Rouhani, the President, also spoke on Wednesday, indicating the Islamic Republic's concern about Trump's approach to the JCPOA as President of the United States. Rouhani emphasized that 'Iran's intelligence in the nuclear agreement was to establish the JCPOA not as an agreement with one country or one government, but as a UN Security Council resolution that cannot be changed by the decision of one government.' The Iranian President also stated that 'the outcome of the U.S. election has no effect on the policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran.' Meanwhile, Bahram Qasemi, the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, stated on Wednesday that what matters more is the performance of the future U.S. government, not election propaganda. Qasemi described U.S. policies as causing 'increased violence' and 'extremism' in the Middle East and emphasized the need for 'serious reconsideration and rethinking of U.S. regional policy,' noting that Iran is at the forefront of fighting 'terrorist' groups, including ISIS. Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, also reacted to Trump's victory on Wednesday, stating: 'The independent approach and intelligent behavior of the Islamic Republic of Iran has never been influenced by changes in governance in other countries.' However, a senior French official echoed Zarif's point on Wednesday, with Jean-Marc Ayrault, the French Foreign Minister, stating that Paris must clarify its position with Washington on several issues, including the Syrian crisis, the nuclear agreement with Iran, and climate change. The French Foreign Minister considered the U.S. and France as allies and stated that for global peace and stability, Paris and Washington must cooperate. Ayrault noted that it is important to understand what the next President of the United States intends to do.