TEHRAN, Nov 5, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said the
Islamic republic “will proudly bypass sanctions” by the United States that
took effect on Monday targeting the country’s oil and financial sectors. “I
announce that we will proudly bypass your illegal, unjust sanctions because
it’s against international regulations,” Rouhani said in a televised speech.
“We are in a situation of economic war, confronting a bullying power. I
don’t think that in the history of America, someone has entered the White
House who is so against law and international conventions,” he added.
The measures described by Washington as “the toughest sanctions ever”
follow US President Donald Trump’s controversial decision in May to abandon
the multi-nation nuclear deal with Tehran.
The latest tranche aim to significantly cut Iran’s oil exports — which
have already fallen by around one million barrels a day since May — and cut
it off from international finance.
The United States has given temporary exemptions to eight countries —
including India, Japan and Turkey — to continue buying oil in a bid to avoid
disturbing their economies and global markets.
But US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed to push Iran’s oil sales to
zero.
“Watch what we do. Watch as we’ve already taken more crude oil off the
market than any time in previous history,” he told CBS’s “Face the Nation” on
Sunday.
Trump’s administration says it wants a new deal with Iran that curbs its
interventions around the Middle East and missile programme — demands that
have been flatly rejected by Tehran.
“Constantly they are sending us messages saying ‘Let’s sit and negotiate.’
Negotiations for what?” said Rouhani.
“First, you respect the negotiations we already concluded, so that there
are grounds for the next negotiations.”
– ‘Act on your commitments’ –
Rouhani said four countries had approached him during his visit to New
York for the UN General Assembly in September, offering to mediate with the
US but he turned them down.
“There is no need for mediation. There is no need for all these messages.
Act on your commitments, and we will sit and talk,” he said.
Iran’s economy was already suffering from major structural problems —
including major banking issues — before Trump walked out of the nuclear
deal.
But Trump’s announcement in May helped fuel a run on Iran’s currency that
has seen the rial lose more than two thirds of its value, driving up prices
and forcing the government to resort to food handouts for the country’s poor.
Rouhani came to power in 2013, vowing to rebuild ties with the world and
attract billions of dollars in foreign investment.
The other parties to the nuclear deal — Britain, France, Germany, China
and Russia — have all vehemently opposed the US move and vowed to keep trade
going, though they are struggling to convince private companies to stand up
to US pressure.
Most of the international firms who lined up to work in Iran after the
2015 deal have been forced to leave, including France’s Total, Peugeot and
Renault, Germany’s Siemens.
“Today, it’s not just us who are angry with America’s policies. Even
European companies and governments are angry with America’s policies,” said
Rouhani.