Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that Iran is "very happy" over the looming departure from office of US President Donald Trump, describing the outgoing President as a “terrorist”.
"Some say you are overexcited by the advent of Mr. Biden. No, we are not, but we are very happy to see Trump leave," he said at a cabinet meeting, according to the AFP news agency.
"Thank God, these are his final days," Rouhani added, before calling Trump a "tyrant", "the most unruly, lawless president" and a "terrorist and murderer."
Tensions between the US and Iran escalated after Trump withdrew in 2018 from the nuclear deal signed between Iran and world powers three years earlier, and proceeded to reimpose sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
Iran, in turn, has gradually scaled back its compliance with the 2015 deal.
In contrast to Trump, President-elect Joe Biden has expressed a desire to rejoin the deal and told The New York Times last week that he would do so if Iran returned to compliance with it.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif clarified recently that his country will not agree to renegotiate the 2015 nuclear deal and urged Biden to abandon what he described as Washington's "rogue" behavior in withdrawing from the agreement.
In his remarks on Wednesday, Rouhani said the outcome of the US election showed the American people's desire for a "law-abiding" president and called on the Biden administration to live up to the expectation.
"If it wants to be on the correct path, it's there, and if it wants the wrong one, it's also there," he said.