The United States said on Monday it did not expect policy changes from Iran following the election of reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian as its new President, and downplayed chances to resume dialogue.
"We have no expectation that this election will lead to a fundamental change in Iran's direction or its policies," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters, as quoted by the AFP news agency.
Miller said Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was expected to call the shots in Iran.
"Obviously, if the new president had the authority to make steps to curtail Iran's nuclear program, to stop funding terrorism, to stop destabilizing activities in the region, those would be steps that we would welcome," Miller said.
"But needless to say, we don't have any expectation that that's what's likely to ensue," he added.
Asked if the United States was at least willing to reopen diplomacy with Iran after Pezeshkian's election, Miller replied, "We have always said that diplomacy is the most effective way to achieve an effective, sustainable solution with regard to Iran's nuclear program."
At the White House, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, asked if the United States was ready to resume nuclear talks with Iran, said emphatically, "No."
"We'll see what this guy wants to get done, but we are not expecting any changes in Iranian behavior," Kirby said.
Iran and world powers, including the US, in 2015 signed the Iran nuclear deal. In 2018, then-President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the deal. In response, Iran has scaled back its compliance with the 2015 agreement.
The Biden administration sought to return to the deal and held indirect talks with Iran on a return to compliance, but the negotiations reached a stalemate last September, after Iran submitted an unsatisfactory response to a European Union proposal to revive the deal.
Relations have deteriorated further since the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, which receives support from Iran.