Rouhani: Iran stands firm against US sanctions

Every route the Americans have taken has led to defeat,” Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday, adding that Iran has stood firm against US sanctions, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

Rouhani arrived in Iran’s North Khorasan province Sunday morning for the inauguration of a number of development projects, according to Mehr.

He said: “For 14 months, the biggest economic and military power in the world has imposed the toughest sanctions on the people of Iran … But the resistant people of Iran have stood firm in these 14 months, and every route the Americans have taken has led to defeat.”

The US has been “condemned” in the region, and it has been defeated in Syria and Yemen, Rouhani added.

In spite of sanctions, Iran’s foreign debt since 2017 has decreased by about 25 percent, he claimed.

On May 8, 2018, US President Donald Trump signed a document reinstating sanctions against Iran after announcing the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal due to Iran’s continued support for terrorists and foreign proxy groups. The sanctions hit vital parts of Iran’s economy, including oil exports, shipping and banking.

Most recently, new sanctions were imposed on Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and eight commanders of the IRGC on June 24, in response to the shooting down of a US drone on June 20.

On July 10, 2019, US special representative for Iran, Brian Hook, told Al Arabiya that imposed oil sanctions on Iran alone will deny the regime 50 billion dollars in revenue annually, adding that the pressure is going to continue.

According to the International Monetary Fund, Iran’s economy contracted by 3.9 percent in 2018 and its projected real GDP is forecast to drop by 6 percent this year.