Tehran plays down importance of US election as Trump claims victory

Iranians' livelihoods will not be affected by the U.S. elections, government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani was reported as saying on Wednesday after Donald Trump declared victory in the presidential vote.

Arab and Western officials have told Reuters Trump may reimpose his "maximum pressure policy" through heightened sanctions on Iran's oil industry and empower Israel to strike its nuclear sites and conduct "targeted assassinations".

"The U.S. elections are not really our business. Our policies are steady and don't change based on individuals. We made the necessary predictions before and there will not be change in people's livelihoods," Mohajerani said, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

During his first mandate, Trump reapplied sanctions on Iran after he withdrew from a 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and world powers that had curtailed Tehran's nuclear programme in exchange for economic benefits.

The reinstatement of U.S. sanctions in 2018 hit Iran's oil exports, slashing government revenues and forcing it to take unpopular steps such as increasing taxes and running big budget deficits, policies that have kept annual inflation close to 40%.

Iran's national currency has weakened at the prospect of a Trump presidency, reaching an all-time low of 700,000 rials to the U.S Dollar on the free market, according to Iranian currency tracking website Bonbast.com.