Rouhani goes more defiant as the US gears up for more pressures on Iran

Tabnak – As the United States appears determined to continue increasing economic pressures on the Islamic Republic, Iranian president warns the Americans to think about the negative consequences of their acts. He also refers to the regional implications on Washington’s hostile moves against Iran.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has warned his American counterpart Donald Trump not to escalate tensions with his country, saying a confrontation with the Islamic republic would be the "mother of all wars".

"Do not play with the lion's tail or else you will regret it," Rouhani said on Sunday, reiterating that the US cannot prevent Iran from exporting its crude oil to the international market.

In an address to a meeting of heads of Iran’s diplomatic missions abroad, held in Tehran on Sunday morning, Rouhani derided Trump’s plan to drive the Islamic Republic’s oil exports down to zero, saying an individual with even a basic knowledge of politics would never talk about a halt to Iranian oil exports.

He also stressed that Iran has been a guarantor of security in the region’s maritime routes, saying the Strait of Hormuz is only one of the straits that Iran has control over.

“Mr. Trump! Do not play with the lion’s tail, (because) you’ll regret it. You are unable to provoke the Iranian nation against Iran’s security and interests,” Rouhani underlined.

“Iran’s strategic depth reaches the [Indian] Subcontinent to the east, and the Mediterranean to the west, the Red Sea to the south, and the Caucasus to the north,” he said. “We rooted Daesh out and saved the people in the region; we take pride in ourselves.”

During a recent visit to Austria, Rouhani pledged that Tehran will stand firm against the US threat to halt Iranian oil shipments, saying no other country in the region could export oil if Iran is to be deprived of oil exports.

On Saturday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei praised Rouhani’s firm response to the US threat to halt Iran’s oil exports, saying his significant stances that signify the Establishment’s policy must be seriously pursued by the Foreign Ministry.

The Iranian chief executive further praised the role of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in protecting the country against enemy plots.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Iranian president referred to the stance of the remaining parties to the JCPOA (Iran nuclear deal) versus that of America and said the US has become isolated as a result of its unilateral withdrawal from the deal.

“The US is clashing with the whole world over the JCPOA,” he said, adding, “The isolated America should not [be given a chance to] recover.”

On May 8, Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from a 2015 multilateral nuclear deal with Iran over the objections of Europe as well as Russia and China.

The withdrawal entailed not only the re-imposition of sanctions on Iran but also the so-called secondary sanctions on third countries. Some of those sanctions will take effect after a 90-day wind-down period ending on August 6, and the rest after a 180-day wind-down period ending on November 4.