Iran Unmoved by US Election Outcome, Official Says

Iran's top national security official, Hassan Rowhani, said Tuesday that Tehran has no stake in whether George W. Bush or John Kerry wins the November presidential election.

Speaking on state television on 19 October 2004, Rowhani said neither party had historically served Iranian interests. He pointed to the Clinton years as evidence, noting that the heaviest economic sanctions on Iran were imposed under a Democratic administration.

A Republican victory, he added, would be equally inconsequential. Iran had watched US military assertiveness in the region produce results that damaged American interests, and Tehran said it felt no apprehension about a second Bush term.

The two candidates held distinct positions on the nuclear issue. Bush was pressing to bring Iran before the UN Security Council over allegations that Tehran was developing nuclear weapons. Kerry offered a different approach, proposing to supply Iran with nuclear fuel in exchange for a halt to its domestic enrichment program.

Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in October 2004, in its own words.