Iran to Give Crushing Response If US Takes Any Practical Move: President

Addressing a cabinet session on Sunday, President Rouhani highlighted the UN Security Council’s opposition to the US’ push to reinstate the sanctions on Iran by resorting to the snapback mechanism of the JCPOA, warning Washington of Tehran’s harsh response to any practical measure.

“Hereby, I should announce as the president of Iran that if the US wants to exercise bullying and take practical action with the false notion that it has been able to reinstate the resolutions (on sanctions), while nobody agrees with it, it will certainly receive our decisive response,” the president said.

“It is quite clear that Iran has never given in to the US’ bullying at any juncture, and will stand against the US’ bullying at the current juncture as well,” he noted.

“We have always made it clear that there is only one way to deal with the Iranian nation, and that is respecting the rights of the Iranian nation, and speaking to the Iranian nation with the language of honour. Whoever intends to face the Iranian people with bullying, that course will definitely end in failure and will not yield results,” the president emphasized.

“When the US has put in a non-legal and incorrect request and the vast majority of the (UN) Security Council (members) have dismissed and opposed that request, from now on the US’ words would mean nothing but rebelliousness, and nobody would accept such (US) argument, and the consequences of these words and stances will afflict the US itself,” President Rouhani warned.

The Iranian president further commended the UN Security Council Member States for opposing the US’ “illegal and illogical” requests during August and September, and lauded the previous and incumbent presidents of the UNSC, namely Indonesia and Niger, for dismissing Washington’s unlawful moves.

“I should also thank Russia and China, as the friendly nations, which strongly and vigorously stood against the US’ illogicality in the past and in the current juncture, and should also admire the other Security Council Member States, including the European states and others, the whole 12 or 13 states that supported Iran and stood against the US,” he added.

President Rouhani then reiterated that if the five remaining parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, known as the P4+1, honour the agreement in full, Iran will also fully return to its commitments under the nuclear deal.

“The fact that we reduced and stopped the JCPOA commitments was because we waited for one year but the 4+1 did not give us a positive response in the economic field, although they have always adopted good stances legally and politically. But since they could not or didn’t want to act fully in the economic field, we gave up our JCPOA commitments in turn. However, we will once again return to our JCPOA commitments whenever the five countries are ready and return to all of their JCPOA commitments,” the president underlined.