Iran’s Rouhani says tensions with US at their peak

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said yesterday that tension between his country and the United States had reached their peak, calling the US sanctions on his country a “terrorist act” and the Warsaw Mideast conference “a failure”.

“The United States is using all its force against us,” Rouhani told a cabinet meeting.

Earlier on Monday, Rouhani described the US sanctions imposed on Tehran as an “economic war” stressing that “economic war is more difficult than military war”.

Rouhani said his country could negotiate with the United States if Washington lifted the sanctions imposed on Tehran, explaining that the US is trying to isolate Iran internationally, through sanctions.

On Saturday during the Munich Security Conference, US Vice President Mike Pence described Iran as “the greatest threat in the Middle East” and “the greatest sponsor of terrorism in the world”.

“It is time for European partners to stop undermining US sanctions on Iran and to stand with us and with the Iranian people,” he said.

Last year, the US unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal signed between the world powers and Iran and re-imposed sanctions on the Gulf state, targeting its vital oil sector.

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