Iran has declared its plans to focus on a nuclear issue in 2025, targeted at the United States and Israel.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told reporters in Beijing on Saturday that “2025 will be an important year regarding Iran’s nuclear issue.”
Recall that in the past months, the conflict between Iran and Israel had escalated to a record high.
Araqchi’s recent comments could imply that Iran is bracing for the possible reimposition of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” policy.
Recall that Trump in 2018 reneged on a deal struck by his predecessor, Barack Obama, in 2015, in which Iran agreed to curb uranium enrichment, which can yield material for nuclear weapons, in return for the relaxation of U.S. and U.N. economic sanctions.
The Iranian leader’s main concern may be that Trump could empower Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to attack Iran’s nuclear sites while further tightening U.S. sanctions on its crucial oil industry.
The development comes as the Iranian rial on Saturday hit a new all-time low against the U.S. dollar amid uncertainty about Trump’s arrival in the White House on January 20, 2025.
The rial plunged to 820,500 to the dollar on the unofficial market, compared with 808,500 rials on Friday, according to Bonbast.com, which reports exchange rates.
