US Sanctions Targeting Iranian People: President Rouhani
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Contrary to what the US government claims, Washington’s sanctions and pressures are aimed at harming the people of Iran, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Saturday.
Speaking to reporters in Tehran after a meeting with the Parliament speaker and Judiciary chief, Rouhani said the US government is after pressure and cruelty to the Iranian nation.
The claim that the US is seeking to mount pressure on the Iranian government and not on the people is totally wrong, he said, adding, “With their inappropriate and wrong sanctions and by targeting (Iran’s) banking system and oil exports… Americans want to negatively impact the life and daily livelihood of the people.”
He also said the US claim that medicine, foodstuff and medical equipment are exempted from the anti-Iran sanctions is untrue, because imposing sanctions on Iran’s banking system would affect trade in all areas.
The president assured the Iranian nation that the administration has made arrangements to secure the steady supply of basic goods for many months.
As regards the meeting of heads of the three branches of power, Rouhani said the latest status of Iran’s economy and a road map for the coming months were discussed in the gathering.
Last week, Rouhani said Iran will proudly circumvent the US sanctions, which he branded as cruel and illegal.
The US government imposed a new round of sanctions on Iran on November 4.
On May 8, the US president pulled his country out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the nuclear deal that was achieved in Vienna in 2015 after years of negotiations among Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).
The US had announced plans to drive Iran’s oil exports down to zero, but backed off from its policy and granted waivers to at least 8 countries that import Iranian oil.