Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani compared the resistance of Iranians during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, saying Iran will give up neither before the ongoing economic war nor before actual bombs.
Speaking at a ceremony commemorating the Iran-Iraqi war, known in Iran as the Sacred Defence, Rouhani said Iran will make adversaries regret the economic war they wage against Tehran, and will not be demoralized by military action.
“We need resistance, so our enemies know if they bomb our land, and if our children are martyred, wounded or arrested, we will not give up on our goals for the independence of our country and our pride.”
The president recalled the capture of the border city of Khorramshahr and the day the city was liberated with some 19,000 Iraqi soldiers surrounded inside, saying today’s Iranian youth is ready for new battles like Khorramshahr.
The enemies are pressuring Iran to make it regret [fighting for] its independence and dignity, but the people will once again show the enemies’ plots will not bear fruit,” he noted.
Iran will not surrender abjectly in the face of US sanctions, Rouhani stated, adding, “We will defeat the enemy through sacrifice and unity.”
“I explicitly declare that the Iranian nation will defeat the US, the Israeli regime, and the regional reactionaries through resistance and unity,” the Iranian president said.
The United States ramped up its military presence in the Arabian Sea and in neighbouring Iraq, reportedly increasing troops at Iraqi military bases to 10,000 and are said to be mulling sending additional troops to the region, which has been confirmed by the acting Defence Secretary Patrick M. Shanahan.
Earlier reports indicated the US military also transport armoured vehicles to Iraq from Jordan. Despite that, the President of the United States says Washington does not want to go to war with Iran.
Earlier last year Trump re-imposed economic sanctions against Iran lifted by the previous administration. The US unilaterally withdrew from the so-called Iranian deal and designated Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) a foreign terrorist organization. In response, Iran designated US Department of Defence’s Central Command a terrorist organization as well.
Iran repeatedly said it will adhere to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action treaty, despite the unilateral US exit from the accord. Tehran called on the international community and local allies to stop Washington’s “hegemonic policies” and resist US-imposed sanctions.
Source: Sputnik
