Rouhani urges unity against sanctions

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called on Saturday for unity among Iran's political factions to overcome conditions which he said may be harder than those during the 1980s war with Iraq, as the country faces tightening US sanctions, Reuters cited state media reports as saying.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday urged Iran's leaders talk with him about giving up their nuclear program and said he could not rule out a military confrontation.

Trump made the offer as he increased economic and military pressure on Iran, moving to cut off all Iranian oil exports this month while beefing up the US Navy and Air Force presence in the Gulf. Washington also approved a new deployment of Patriot missiles to the Middle East, a US official said on Friday.

"Today, it cannot be said whether conditions are better or worse than the (1980-88) war period, but during the war we did not have a problem with our banks, oil sales or imports and exports, and there were only sanctions on arms purchases," Rouhani said, according to the state news agency IRNA.

"The pressures by enemies is a war unprecedented in the history of our Islamic revolution ... but I do not despair and have great hope for the future and believe that we can move past these difficult conditions provided that we are united," Rouhani told activists from various factions.

Hardliners have criticized Rouhani after Trump withdrew from Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which Rouhani supported, and reimposed sanctions last year. The pragmatic president has also been abandoned by some of his moderate allies.

Recently, Washington has ratcheted up pressure against Teheran with a string of sanctions, designations and military threats, according to Xinhua News Agency.

On Thursday, US State Department warned Iran that any attacks against US interests would incur US response.

In a statement issued by the department, US State Secretary Mike Pompeo accused Iran of engaging in "an escalating of threatening actions and statements in recent weeks".

"Teheran should understand that any attacks by them or their proxies of any identity against US interests or citizens will be answered with a swift and decisive US response," the statement threatened.

Pompeo on Thursday canceled his scheduled visit to Greenland due to the escalation of tensions with Iran, media reported, citing a state department official.

On Wednesday, also known as the one-year mark of US withdrawal from Iran nuclear deal, Washington slapped fresh sanctions on the iron, steel, aluminum and copper sectors of Iran, aiming to further deprive Teheran's export revenue.

On Sunday, the United States announced that it was deploying an aircraft carrier group and bombers to the Middle East, accusing Iran of posing a threat to Washington and its allies in the region.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif dismissed such accusations. "If US and clients don't feel safe, it's because they're despised by the people of the region - blaming Iran won't reverse that," he tweeted on Tuesday.

(China Daily 05/13/2019 page11)