Foreign Policy Decisions Depend on American Measures

Iran’s policy toward the United States will be developed based on Washington’s measures under its new presidency rather than speculations and media analyses, an Iranian diplomat said.     
“After an administration is formed, we will decide based on the new conditions and the measures that the Americans take,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a regular press conference on Monday, ISNA reported. 
US Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, was declared the winner of elections on Saturday, beating incumbent Donald Trump who pursued the most hawkish policies against Tehran. 
He pulled the US out of the 2015 nuclear deal and imposed sweeping sanctions on Iran as part of the so-called maximum pressure campaign.
Biden, on the other hand, has vowed to rejoin the deal if Iran returns to full compliance, raising hopes about Washington’s positive change of approach toward Tehran following his inauguration. 
Iran, however, has set conditions for the US to return to the agreement, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. 
“[Past] US measures have caused serious damage to the Iranian nation for which the US is held legally responsible and any government that wishes to change its approach needs to consider this reality and make up for the past,” Khatibzadeh said, adding that the country is focused on protecting the interests of the nation.
He added that sanctions-lifting was an essential JCPOA obligation, which the US did not meet and prevented other parties to comply with.
“Commitments are collective and all sides must return to their own,” he said.   
The diplomat also cautioned that certain Iran-hawks are still seeking to pursue their hostile policy using different methods.    
Earlier in an exclusive interview with Iran’s Alalam news network, Khatibzadeh had said, “The US is not in a position to set conditions for anybody.”
He added that the difference between Biden and Trump is obvious, but Iran will wait for practical steps to be taken. 
“The United States must repent, meaning it must firstly, admit to its mistakes and secondly, stop the economic war against Iran. Thirdly, it must mend its ways and meet its obligations and, fourthly, compensate for the losses [it inflicted on Iran],” he said.
Khatibzadeh noted that if the US decided to return to JCPOA, there would be a table, but it should first be held accountable for breaching its promises.
Foreign Minister Mohamad Javad Zarif had also said following Biden’s victory that the world is watching whether he will abandon the previous policies. 
“The American people have spoken. And the world is watching whether the new leaders will abandon disastrous, lawless bullying of outgoing regime —and accept multilateralism, cooperation & respect for law,” Zarif tweeted.