Renewed oil sanctions against Iran that begin Nov. 4 are a “new instance of oppression” by the U.S. and a sign it is “in retreat,” Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday.
The sanctions bar countries from trading with Iran for crude oil exports, and are designed to pressure Tehran into renegotiating a new nuclear deal. They overturn the Obama-era softening of trade with the Middle East state and fulfill a campaign promise made by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Rouhani said in a televised address Wednesday those sanctions will not work.
“We are certain that the Americans will fail in their new plot, and that they are actually in gradual retreat,” Rouhani said. “We tell them that ‘You will not reach any of your goals with regard to Iran’s oil sales. You will neither be able to bring it to zero nor reduce it.'”
Rouhani said the sanctions will backfire because Iranian citizens love their country.
Under existing U.S.-imposed sanctions, Iran’s currency has already fallen 70 percent against the U.S. dollar. As a result, the costs of medicine, food and other products has increased as the economy stalls, as President Trump has noted:
This is not the first time Rouhani has claimed that the U.S. has a limited future.
Apparently triggered by the reimposition of sanctions and ongoing protests over the nation’s depleted economy, Rouhani went on a tirade against the U.S. in June where he said his regime would “bring America to its knees” and suggested that half of America’s population is “ashamed of their government.” READ MORE
