DUBAI – Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran would not be able to ignore its archenemy, the United States, and must “treat its enemies with patience”, state media reported on Tuesday, a week after victory of Donald Trump in the American presidential election.

“Whether we like it or not, we will have to deal with the United States on the regional and international stage, so it is better to manage this relationship ourselves,” said Pezeshkian, considered relatively moderate.

“We must treat our friends with generosity and treat our enemies with patience.”

In 2018, President Trump abandoned the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers and reimposed harsh sanctions as part of his “maximum pressure” policy against Iran.

Although there is no information that the Trump administration plans to engage in negotiations with Tehran after taking office in January, the president-elect said on the campaign trail: “I don’t want to cause any damage to Iran but they cannot have nuclear weapons. “

Indirect talks between Washington and Tehran to revive the nuclear deal were launched under US President Joe Biden’s administration but failed. Iran is still officially part of the agreement but has scaled back its commitments to respect it due to American sanctions reimposed on the Islamic Republic.

Earlier on Tuesday, government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said Iran would pursue anything that secures its interests, when asked if there could be direct talks with the Trump administration.

She warned that the final decision on talks rested with the top politician, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the Supreme National Security Council.

“Trump’s maximum pressure campaign has failed, even though people have suffered. It will be actions, not words, that will count, but we recommend that Trump take into account the failure of his past policies,” she said. added Mohajerani. REUTERS