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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (C) addresses a gathering of local officials in North Khorasan Province. (Photo by president.ir)
Sun Jul 14, 2019 05:44PM
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (C) addresses a gathering of local officials in North Khorasan Province. (Photo by president.ir)
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says all attempts by the United States to “bully” Iran have fallen flat as a result of an expanding global front against Washington’s mischief.
Rouhani said Sunday that Tehran has managed to defeat the administration of US President Donald Trump on various fronts with its patience and measured policies.
“The US made attempts and was defeated in the International Atomic Energy Agency, the International Court of Justice at The Hague, the Warsaw Conference,” he told local officials in North Khorasan Province. “This is a victory for the Iranian nation and we were able to show our power in major challenges.”
The president further said Washington failed to persuade the world community to follow in its footsteps and was left alone because no country in the world bought into its anti-Iran policies save for a few “tiny regimes.”
“Only a fake regime and one or two tiny countries supported the US while the whole world resisted America and its bullying and praised our strategic patience against it, which was a difficult task to accomplish,” he added.
Rouhani then referred to Trump’s decision in May 2018 to pull out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal – known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Upon announcing his departure from the landmark agreement, Trump said he would launch a pressure campaign against Iran that will make use of sanctions and other hostile measures to force Iran into renegotiating a new deal that would address its ballistic missile program and curb its regional influence.
Since then, the US has imposed sanctions against Iranian oil exports while also sending troops and military equipment to the Persian Gulf region to confront what it refers to as “threats” coming from Iran.
Rouhani said Washington has tried in vain to rally the world behind it in forcing Iran to leave the JCPOA through sanctions and “economic warfare.”
“As a seasoned nation and a [seasoned] government, we are dealing with an inexperienced administration in the US,” he said.
Russia, China did well on JCPOA unlike Europeans
Rouhani added that Russia and China did well to meet their commitments as signatories of the JCPOA but the European parties to the deal — the UK, France and Germany — either “refused or couldn’t” follow suit.
The three European countries (E3) have repeatedly expressed support for the deal but have done little to meet Iran’s expectations.
Having grown impatient with the E3, Iran has been cutting back on its commitments under the deal by increasing enriched uranium stocks and enrichment purity beyond the limits set by the JCPOA.
Tehran has made it clear that it won’t reverse the decisions unless the E3 deliver on their pledge to protect bilateral trade from US sanctions through the special payment channel known as the INSTEX.
‘Iran always ready for talks’
Rouhani noted that Iran was always prepared for direct talks with other countries, including the US, long as they treated it with respect and didn’t resort to bullying.
“We are always ready for negotiations, even at this very hour and very second, if you drop bullying and sanctions and come back to your senses and the way of logic,” he added.
Trump and several of his hawks, including State Secretary Mike Pompeo, have expressed readiness for talks without any preconditions.
Iran, however, has made it clear that it won’t come to the table under pressure.
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