"This highly sensitive region and security of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman waterways are crucially important to many countries and therefore, we expect the international bodies to show a proper reaction to this US aggressive move … The Islamic Republic of Iran's unchanging approach entails decreasing tensions, preventing any clashes among the countries' military forces and establishing peace and stability in the region and across the world", Rouhani said as quoted by the Fars News Agency.
The statement comes after Iran said on 19 June that it had downed a US surveillance drone flying over the coastal Hormozgan province because it had violated the country's airspace. The US Central Command has, in turn, said that the drone was shot down while operating over international waters of the Strait of Hormuz.
US President Donald Trump first said the United States was "cocked and loaded" to strike Iran in retaliation for downing the US drone but then called off the attack because he decided it would be a disproportionate response. On 22 June, Trump said that new "major" sanctions would be imposed on Iran on 24 June.
Earlier this month, the United States boosted its military presence in the Persian Gulf in what US National Security Adviser John Bolton said was "a clear and unmistakable signal to the Iranian regime that any attack on the interests of the United States or [its] allies will be met with ruthless force".
Tensions have been on the rise between the United States and Iran since Washington pulled out of a nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers and imposed tight new sanctions on Iran last year.