Iran says expects Biden to step away from ‘wrong path’

TEHRAN: Iran said on Monday that nothing will change between it and arch-enemy the United States under president-elect Joe Biden unless his administration takes three steps to correct America’s "wrong path".

Decades-old tensions between Tehran and Washington have escalated since President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 and began reimposing sanctions.

Biden, who defeated Trump at the ballot box last week, said during campaigning that he plans to embark on a "credible path to return to diplomacy" with Iran. He also raised the possibility of returning to the nuclear deal.

Iran’s foreign ministry said on Monday that there was still enough time for the United States to "turn back from this wrong path". "We will certainly look closely at the actions and words of the next US administration," said ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh. "There are three important changes that must come to be before anything can happen," he told a weekly news conference.