In nationally televised remarks on Thursday, he said that Iran will never surrender to the US and will preserve its national dignity and in this struggle and promised to “bring the US to its knees.”
“We must show the world that we will handle the problems and hardships without sacrificing our grandeur, freedom, independence, democracy, the republican system, religion and culture,” Rouhani added.
On May 8, US President Donald Trump said the US was walking away from the 2015 nuclear agreement with Tehran and promised to impose the “highest level” of sanctions on the country’s energy petrochemical and financial sectors.
On June 5, Iran notified the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that it was ramping up its uranium enrichment capability.
According to the country’s spiritual leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran cannot simultaneously remain under sanctions, give up on its nuclear program and comply with restrictions” imposed on it by the six international mediators.
In 2015, Iran, the five permanent members of the Security Council, Germany and the EU signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which imposes strict curbs on Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the loosening of economic sanctions.
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