President Rouhani on Thursday referred to the eight-year war Iraq imposed on Iran in the 1980s, and said, “At that time, Iran was under the pressure of a military attack and occupation of its territory, but today we’re faced with an economic war and an attack on people’s welfare.”
Addressing a group of war veterans in Tehran, Rouhani said this new attack is somehow more complicated than the previous one, and thus the Iranians need to remain resistant and united.
Our enemies must understand frustration and disappointment have no place in our hearts, and we won’t stop pursuing the goal of [protecting] the country’s independence and honour even “if our country is bombarded” and our men are martyred, wounded, and captured, he stressed.
“The enemies are putting Iran under pressure to make us regret striving for our independence and dignity, but the people will once again show their plots will not bear fruit, and will make the enemies regretful again,” he noted.
Rouhani said the Iranian nation has not bowed for more than one year despite tough sanctions and numerous problems.
“No one will hear the sound of humiliation and submission from Iran and the nation, and we will defeat the enemy through sacrifice and solidarity,” he added.
“Today is the day of resistance, and I openly tell the Iranian nation we can defeat the US, the Zionist regime, and the regional reactionaries through resistance and unity,” the president said.
The president’s comments come amid heightened tensions between Iran and the US, and the growing threat of a military confrontation between the two sides.
The US has deployed a carrier strike group to the Persian Gulf citing “intelligence” of an imminent Iranian attack on US interests in the region. Tehran has repeatedly said that it is not seeking to escalate tensions but it won’t be afraid if there is any.
