Iranian President Hassan Rouhani equates Trump with former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein

In a renewed attack on Donald Trump, Hassan Rouhani described the outgoing US President as a "madman" and equated him with former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. The Iranian president's provocative remarks come ahead of Trump's White House exit after one term in office, which saw a colossal rise in regional tension in the face of the US's aggressive policies in the Middle East.  

"One madman in our region was Saddam, who imposed a war on our nation, and the other madman was Trump, who imposed another war on our people," Rouhani said in comments that were broadcast on state television."One imposed a military war on us, while the other imposed an economic war."

Rouhani called both Trump and Hussein, who launched a devastating war against Iran in the 1980s, mentally unstable. Saddam Hussein was captured by US forces after the 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq and hanged to death in a Baghdad prison 14 years ago.

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Iran looks forward to Biden 

With Trump's exit, the Islamic Republic hopes to normalise diplomatic ties with the US under the incoming Biden administration. Earlier this month, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the nation would fully implement the 2015 nuclear deal if US President-elect Joe Biden lifts all sanctions on Iran. Zarif's remarks came after Biden reaffirmed his stance on Middle East foreign policies and said his administration would lift sanctions if Iran returned to "strict compliance with the nuclear deal."

US-Iran relations under the Trump administration have been fraught since Washington's exit from the 2015 nuclear deal, followed by the policy of "maximum pressure" targeting the Iranian economy. The unilateral economic sanctions have highly damaged the nation's economy, which has been further stretched thin with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

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