Iran’s Rouhani Says US Sanctions Not Permanent

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani shrugged off the upcoming US sanction against the Islamic Republic and said that the country’s trade partners should be aware that Washington’s pressures on Tehran are temporary but trade ties with Iran are permanent.

The Iranian people should know that the administration has no fear about the US government’s threats and sanctions, Rouhani said, addressing a cabinet session in Tehran on Wednesday.

“We also tell Iran’s trade partners that this (US) pressure is temporary and that our relationship with you is permanent,” he said, adding that the Americans cannot decide for the region and its nations.

“Certainly, the US will not emerge victorious in this new plot against Iran, as they are retreating step by step. First, they said they would cut (Iran’s) oil (exports) to zero; then they said they would not be able to do so in November,” the president went on to say.

The European Union has vowed to counter US President Donald Trump’s renewed sanctions on Iran, including by means of a new law to shield European companies from punitive measures.

On May 8, the US president pulled his country out of the JCPOA, the nuclear deal that was achieved in Vienna in 2015 after years of negotiations among Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).

Following the US exit, Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the accord.

Trump on August 6 signed an executive order re-imposing many sanctions on Iran, three months after pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal.

He said the US policy is to levy “maximum economic pressure” on the country.

The second batch of US sanctions against the Islamic Republic is slated to take effect on November 4.