By NASSER KARIMI and MEHDI FATTAHI
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — America’s presidential election subsequent week comes simply after Iran marks the forty fifth anniversary of the 1979 U.S. Embassy hostage disaster — and for a lot of, tensions between Tehran and Washington really feel simply as excessive as they did then.
Iran stays locked in the Mideast wars roiling the area, with its allies — militant teams and fighters of its self-described “Axis of Resistance” — battered as Israel presses its battle within the Gaza Strip focusing on Hamas and its invasion of Lebanon amid devastating assaults in opposition to Hezbollah. On the similar time, Iran nonetheless seems to be assessing injury from Israel’s strikes on the Islamic Republic final Saturday in response to 2 Iranian ballistic missile assaults.
Iran’s forex, the rial, hovers close to file lows in opposition to the greenback, battered by worldwide sanctions over Tehran’s nuclear program of enriching uranium nearer than ever to weapons-grade ranges.
In public areas, ladies nonetheless overtly defy Iran’s obligatory regulation on the scarf, or hijab, a results of the mass demonstrations over the 2022 dying of Mahsa Amini that also haunts the nation.
That has left a really feel of fatalism amongst some on the streets of the capital, Tehran, as Individuals solid ballots for both Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump. Many are cut up on which candidate could be higher for his or her nation — if in any respect.
“All U.S presidents elected after the (1979) revolution had the same views about Iran and I think that’s unlikely to change,” mentioned Sadegh Rabbani, 65.
Harris and Trump have provided hard-line views on Iran, making Iranians cautious
Each candidates have both undertaken or expressed powerful stances on Iran.
In 2018, Trump unilaterally pulled America out of Tehran’s nuclear cope with world powers, setting off years of assaults throughout the Center East even earlier than Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, assault on Israel. Trump has been briefed on Iranian plots to retaliate in opposition to him, as nicely over his choice to launch a 2020 drone strike that killed Iran’s prime basic, Qassem Soleimani, in Baghdad.
Harris, in the meantime, vowed on the September presidential debate that she would at all times “give Israel the ability to defend itself, in particular as it relates to Iran and any threat that Iran and its proxies pose to Israel.”
For its half, the Biden administration did strive oblique negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program that produced no tangible outcomes, although it did attain one prisoner swap deal that noticed 5 Individuals detained for years in Iran stroll free in September 2023.
In an outside coffeeshop in downtown Tehran, common among the many youth, 22-year-old Zahra Rezaei mentioned she most popular a Harris win.
“We saw Trump in the past and he just ran an anti-Iran policy,” Rezaei advised The Related Press. “It is time for a woman … I think she (Harris) will better since she is not after war.”
Ebrahim Shiri, a 28-year-old postgraduate political sciences scholar, agreed.
“I think Harris knows the world better,” he mentioned. “She and (Joe) Biden convinced Israel not to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities. This mean moving toward peace.”
Others imagine Trump, along with his guarantees of dealmaking, is likely to be a greater match.
“I do not know what the American people think, but Trump is able to get a quick deal with Iran,“ said Mohammad Ali Raoufi, 43, who runs a double-glazed window workshop. “The Biden administration including Harris failed to reach any (deal) with Iran over the past years when they were in power.”
Reza Ghaemi, a 31-year-old taxi driver, additionally instructed Trump could reduce tensions within the area since he pushed to withdraw U.S. troops from the Mideast throughout his time period in workplace.
Iran’s authorities needs sanctions gone and hopes for one more nuclear deal
Many declined to talk to the AP on digital camera — Iran has solely state-run tv and radio stations, so individuals are suspicious of reporters with video cameras working overtly on the road.
A lady strolling by instantly tightened her beforehand unfastened scarf after seeing the digital camera. Nonetheless, one lady spoke on digital camera as her hijab fell off and one other didn’t put on all of it — an indication of how a lot Iran has modified since Amini’s dying.
Those that did communicate to the AP largely expressed worries a few direct United States-Iran battle — particularly if Trump wins.
Whereas saying he needs Trump to win “for my own reasons,” 53-year-old Ahmad Moradi claimed that might make a U.S.-Iran battle “100%” certain to occur.
A lady who solely gave her title as Mahnaz, fearing repercussions for talking overtly, instructed that Harris, as a lady, couldn’t attain any offers with Iran as a result of “men can talk to men.”
“I think if Trump is elected, it will be much harder for our kids. Of course it doesn’t matter which one is elected, it’s already tough for us,” mentioned Fariba Oodi.
“We the Iranian people are trapped in some political game. And our kids are paying a price for that,” she added. “But I still think if it’s Trump, it will be more difficult, especially for my son who is a student and plans to apply” to check in America.
Iran’s reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian, elected after a helicopter crash killed hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi in Could, got here to energy on a promise to achieve a deal to ease Western sanctions.
Iranian officers keep that separating nuclear negotiations from Mideast wars is feasible, at the same time as the U.S. has accused Iran of meddling within the November election, which Tehran denies.
Fatemeh Mohajerani, a spokeswoman for Pezeshkian’s administration, mentioned Tehran needs to see a change in U.S. insurance policies and a respect for the “national sovereignty of other countries.” It additionally needs Washington to “avoid tension-making activities as we witnessed in recent years,” she mentioned.
Analysts, nevertheless, see a tough highway forward for any doable U.S.-Iran talks, irrespective of who wins subsequent Tuesday.
However finally, any choice rests with Iran’s 85-year-old Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“You know, Khamenei has seen eight U.S. presidents” come and go, mentioned Abbas Ghasemi, a 67-year-old retired trainer “He knows how to deal with the next one.”
Related Press author Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.
