Resistance of Iran, China against US Benefits Both Nations: Rouhani

Speaking at a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of 19th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Kyrgyzstan on Friday, Rouhani pointed to the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal despite Iran’s commitment to the deal and said Washington walked away from the deal without any reason.

“The pressures that the US government imposes on Iran and China and other countries are aimed at dominating the whole of Asia and the world,” he noted.

The Iranian president further described the resistance of Iran and China against “the American unilateralism” as in favor of both countries, Asia and the world.

“The Iranian people have shown that they are not shaken by the foreign pressures, but become more united and more resistant,” Rouhani noted.

The Chinese president, for his part, emphasizing that his country is ready to expand cooperation with Iran at regional and global levels to promote multilateralism and protect its interests and those of developing countries.

Heading a high-ranking delegation, Rouhani arrived in Bishkek on Thursday to attend the 19th SCO Summit.

Rouhani’s remarks came against the backdrop of increased tensions between Iran and the US with Washington imposing new sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

The US has ratcheted up pressure on Iran since last year after withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Since then, the administration of US President Donald Trump is trying to reduce Iran’s oil exports to “zero,” and has sent an aircraft carrier strike group, a bomber squad, an amphibious assault ship, and a Patriot missile battery to the Middle East to try to stack up pressure on Tehran.

Iranian officials, however, have dismissed such moves as psychological warfare, saying the country has its own ways of circumventing the American bans and selling crude oil.