Despite US pressure, Iranian president insists his country is not seeking war ‘with any nation’
Iran is not seeking to wage war against any nation, the country’s president has said. He also insisted that Iranians will withstand mounting US pressure.
The remarks by Iranian president Hassan Rouhani came after his country announced it was breaking compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. The US withdrew from this deal a year ago and then restored crippling sanctions on Iran. Donald Trump’s administration has also just ordered 1,000 more US troops to the Middle East.
“We do not wage war with any nation,” Mr Rouhani said, speaking during the inauguration of a new terminal at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport that will raise its capacity from eight million to 13 million passengers a year.
He added that, despite Trump’s withdrawal last year from the nuclear deal, Iran had for many months remained “loyal to its commitments, to… international agreements”.
But on Monday, amid increasing tensions with the US, Iran’s nuclear agency announced it will surpass the uranium stockpile limits set by the 2015 deal in the next 10 days, raising pressure on European leaders trying to save the accord a year after the US withdrawal.
Read on...
Support us and go ad-freeRouhani had already warned Europe that a new deal needs to be in place by July 7 or Iran would increase its enrichment of uranium.
The developments indicate Iran has begun its own maximum pressure campaign after facing one from Trump that has deeply cut into its sale of crude oil abroad and sent its economy into freefall.
Europe has so far been unable to offer Iran a way around the US sanctions.
Support us and go ad-freeWe know everyone is suffering under the Tories - but the Canary is a vital weapon in our fight back, and we need your support
The Canary Workers’ Co-op knows life is hard. The Tories are waging a class war against us we’re all having to fight. But like trade unions and community organising, truly independent working-class media is a vital weapon in our armoury.
The Canary doesn’t have the budget of the corporate media. In fact, our income is over 1,000 times less than the Guardian’s. What we do have is a radical agenda that disrupts power and amplifies marginalised communities. But we can only do this with our readers’ support.
So please, help us continue to spread messages of resistance and hope. Even the smallest donation would mean the world to us.
-
Show Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to leave a comment.Join the conversationPlease read our comment moderation policy here.
I can’t see what else Iran can do to defend itself, amid crippling sanctions by America.
How many wars has America had in the last 150 years? Watched a Trident Submarine go by Puget Sound, remembering it alone could wipe out planetary life as we know it. They with the Russians have thousands of nuclear warheads to obliterate us all many times over, and yet it seems to mean nothing. No one in the political realm has the courage to think about it any longer or even speak up about this American obscenity.
This planet isn’t a death star to me yet.
I just don’t listen to the news.