Friday, May 24, 2019

Rouhani: We won't surrender, even if we're bombed

Iran will not surrender to US pressure and will not abandon its goals even if it is bombed, President Hassan Rouhani stressed on Thursday, according to Reuters.
 
“More than one year after the imposition of these severe sanctions, our people have not bowed to pressures despite facing difficulties in their lives,” Rouhani was quoted by the state news agency IRNA as saying.
 
Addressing a ceremony in commemoration of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, he added, “We need resistance, so our enemies know that if they bomb our land, and if our children are martyred, wounded or taken as prisoners, we will not give up on our goals for the independence of our country and our pride.”
 
Tensions are festering between the US and Iran after Washington sent more military forcesto the Middle East in a show of force against what US officials say are Iranian threats to its troops and interests in the region.
 
Acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan on Thursday confirmed that the Pentagon was considering sending yet further U.S. troops to the Middle East as one of the ways to bolster protection for American forces there.
 
While President Donald Trump has urged Iran’s leaders to talk with him about giving up their nuclear program, he has also made clear he could not rule out a military confrontation with the Islamic Republic.
 
On Monday, Trump said that Iran would be met with "great force" if it attempted anything against US interests in the Middle East, though he stressed he was willing to have talks with Iran "when they're ready."
 
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani later said that he favors talks and diplomacy but not under current conditions.