Establishment of Regional Security Impossible without Iran - Rouhani

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani blasted the US proposal to form a naval coalition in the Persian Gulf, stressing that regional security cannot be established without Iran.

"If you seek to ensure security in the region that cannot be done without Iran," President Rouhani said, addressing a ceremony to unveil the powerful home-made Bavar 373 missile defense system in Tehran on Thursday.

“Iran is a major and influential power in the Middle East and in particular the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Oman Sea and is ready to provide security of international sea routes, only in case you stop your aggressions,” he said.

President Rouhani underlined Iran’s readiness for negotiations with regional Islamic countries, and said “everyone will benefit a secure region and friendly relations.”

“International sea routes including Red Sea, Mediterranean, Gibraltar, Indian Ocean and all other ones across the globe must be safe,” he underlined.

President Rouhani also referred to the US sanctions and pressures against Iran, and said, “It is for two years that the US has started a new conspiracy plot against Iran." “Primarily, they were psychological and political plots and the economic war came afterward,” he noted, “but none of them were successful to get us depressed.”

“America has never been weaker, more insidious and isolated in political and legal terms as it is today,” Rouhani said.

“Today, all of our domestic indicators, whether economic, cultural or social, tell us that our situation is better than it was last year. People live in peace and the stability of the economic market is greater. This is illustrated by statistics in the recent months about inflation, non-oil exports as well as the stock market, which has experienced above 140 percent growth,” he said.

The president added that the US has not been able to reinforce itself in the region and all of its plots have failed.

“The question to ask Americans is what did you do in the region? Did you strengthen your position in the region? You wanted to put Israel in a new position, did you succeed? You wanted to keep the terrorists as your tool to use them whenever you needed them, could you do that? You said you would leave Iraq soon, but you lied,” Rouhani said.

“You have been claiming for some years that you will leave the Persian Gulf, leaving it to your minion, UK, but you lied and are not gone. You vowed to leave Afghanistan but you lied. You said you were not involved in killing people but you were designer or the executor of all the catastrophes occurred the region or provided help to the aggressors. So what did you do for our region? What have you been doing since 2000? What did you do in Afghanistan, Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine, Syria and Yemen? You added a problem every day to the problems of the region,” he added.

The Iranian president noted that the US major allies besides major world powers including Germany, UK, Canada, China and Russia do not believe in Americans anymore.

Referring to the US-Denmark recent spat ignited by Trump’s proposal about purchasing Greenland, Rouhani urged the US to respect the legal rights of other countries.

President Rouhani also praised the Iranian experts for developing Bavar 373, and said, "Much similar to S400, the unveiled home-made Bavar-373 missile defense system is stronger that S300 system."

His remarks came after the US and Britain announced that they will send nuclear-powered carriers and submarines to the Persian Gulf under the pretext of formation of a coalition to establish security in the region.

The United States has been trying to persuade its allies into an international coalition in the Strait of Hormuz, which accommodates around a third of global seaborne oil traffic, and other strategic Middle Eastern shipping lanes.

Washington’s call has, however, been met with little interest from Washington’s allies, which are concerned that joining such an alliance could drag them into a conflict with Iran.

The French are noncommittal, while Germany, Italy and Sweden have rejected joining the alliance.

Fars News Agency