Iran on Tuesday accused the United States of meddling in its affairs after saying Friday’s presidential elections were neither free nor fair.
A US State Department spokesman said yesterday that his country views the electoral process through which Ibrahim Raisi became Iran’s elected president as “very artificial”, stressing that Washington does not see these elections as free or fair.
And state media quoted Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei as saying, “We consider this statement an interference in our internal affairs, and contrary to international law, and we reject it.”
Rabiei added, in a press conference, that the US government is not in a position to express its views on the election process in Iran or any other country.
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Many pro-reform voters did not participate due to the lack of choices among the candidates, after the election commission – controlled by conservatives – banned prominent moderate and conservative candidates from running in the elections.
The participation rate in the elections, which was limited to only 4 candidates, was 48.8%, the lowest participation rate witnessed by a presidential entitlement since the establishment of this republic in 1979.
The United States is Iran’s archenemy, and their diplomatic relations have been severed since 1980.
Tensions between the two countries increased during the era of former US President Donald Trump, who decided in 2018 to unilaterally withdraw his country from the nuclear agreement concluded between Tehran and 6 major international powers three years before that.
Trump re-imposed economic sanctions on Tehran, which responded about a year after the US withdrawal, gradually reneging on most of its commitments under the deal.
The current US President, Joe Biden, has expressed his intention to return his country to the agreement, on the condition that Iran returns to respect its commitments.
Tehran and the parties to the agreement, with the indirect participation of the United States, have been holding talks in Vienna since the beginning of April in an effort to revive this agreement.
In response to a question during his first press conference after his election, Raisi affirmed yesterday his refusal to meet Biden, even if the Vienna talks witnessed a settlement to lift sanctions.