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Iran’s supreme leader says Tehran will not be bullied by US

  • June 04, 2019

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei denounced American pressure on Iran during a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the death of Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, on Tuesday.

In the speech at Khomeini’s mausoleum, which was broadcast live on state TV, Khamenei said that “standing and resisting the enemy’s excessive demands and bullying is the only way to stop him.”

He told his audience, “Resistance has a cost, but the cost of surrendering to the enemy is higher.”

Read more: Opinion: US-Iran escalation a threat, but war unlikely

  • US President Donald Trump signs an EO on Iran sanctions (Shealah Craighead )

    US sanctions against Iran are back in effect

    Sanctions signed off

    US President Trump signed an executive order on August 5 aimed at piling financial pressure on Tehran to force a “comprehensive and lasting solution” to Iranian threats, including its development of missiles and regional “malign” activities. Trump warned that those who don’t wind down their economic ties to Iran “risk severe consequences.”

  • Banknotes: US dollars, euros and Iranian rials (Getty Images/AFP/A. Kenare)

    US sanctions against Iran are back in effect

    Where’s the money?

    The first phase, which took effect on August 7, targets the Islamic Republic’s access to US banknotes, making transactions in a US-dollar dominated financial world difficult. A ban on Iran purchasing precious metals including gold further serves as an attempt to cut the country off from global markets.

  • IranAir passenger plane (picture alliance/AP Photo)

    US sanctions against Iran are back in effect

    Planes, cars and carpets

    Phase one also hits key industries including the purchase of commercial planes, cars and carpets. Iranian imports of graphite, aluminum, steel, coal, gold and some software are also affected. German automaker Daimler called off the production and sale of Mercedes-Benz trucks in Iran indefinitely after the sanctions came into force.

  • Iranian oil platform (Reuters/R. Homavandi)

    US sanctions against Iran are back in effect

    Fuel to the fire

    A second phase of sanctions — which is due to take effect on November 5 and will block Iran’s oil sales — is due to cause more damage. Several countries, however, including China, India and Turkey have indicated they are not willing to entirely cut their Iranian energy purchases.

  • Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (picture-alliance/AP Photo/Iranian Presidency Office)

    US sanctions against Iran are back in effect

    ‘Psychological warfare’

    Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that the United States had launched “psychological warfare” against Iran to create division amongst its people. But he insisted that Iran still can rely on its allies China and Russia to keep its oil and banking sectors afloat. He has also demanded compensation for decades of American “intervention” in the Islamic Republic.

  • The EU's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, with New Zealand foreign minister, Winston Peters (picture-alliance/AP/New Zealand Herald/M. Mitchell)

    US sanctions against Iran are back in effect

    EU protection

    European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the bloc is encouraging small and medium enterprises to increase their business with Iran. She said Tehran has been compliant with their nuclear-related commitments. The EU issued a “blocking statute” to protect European businesses from the impact of the sanctions.

    Author: Keith Walker


‘America is in political decline’

Without mentioning US President Donald Trump by name, Khamenei said the fact that, “The fate of more than 300 million humans is in the hands of a person with such characteristics, is a sign of America’s political decline.”

Khamenei continued: “In America itself there is so much discussion about his mental and moral stability … when such a person is the president of a country, this shows the political and moral decline of that country.”

The supreme leader also warned Iranian politicians against negotiating with the US, saying, “Wherever Americans have set foot, war broke out, fratricide began, sedition was instigated, or an exploitation or colonialism began.”

His warning comes just days after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo suggested Washington would negotiate with Tehran “with no preconditions,” but that Iran must return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) first.

Iran under pressure

The Trump administration unilaterally withdrew the US from the 2015 international treaty in May 2018 and re-imposed sanctions on the Islamic republic. Iran maintains that it has upheld its end of the nuclear deal and only withdrew from portions of it after the US left.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have increased of late with the US placing new sanctions on Iran’s oil sector as well as deploying an aircraft carrier squadron, cruise missiles, and B-52 bombers to the region citing unspecified threats from Iran.

Khamenei says the US is pressuring his country because it has developed its missile program to the point where it has become a true deterrent. Speaking of the US, he said, “they want us to be losers and put up our hands as a sign of surrender, and because we don’t do that, they threaten us.”

Critical of Saudi Arabia

But the US was not the only adversary Khamenei singled out in the speech. He also criticized Saudi Arabia for siding with the US. Regional rivals, the Saudis have actively sought ever-closer alliances with the US in isolating Iran.

Recently, Saudi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf called on Muslim nations to band together against Iran with “all means of force and firmness.”

Iran and Saudi Arabia have been at odds for years, and their rivalry has been highlighted in the ongoing conflicts in Syria and Yemen, where they back opposing sides.

Read more: Opinion: Tehran and Riyadh are two murderous theocracies

The Saudis, who broke off diplomatic ties with Iran in 2016 in the wake of an attack on its Tehran embassy following the execution of Shia opposition cleric Nimr al-Nimr by Riyadh, accuse Iran of threatening regional stability and security.

Tehran vehemently denies such accusations.

js/se (AFP, AP)

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Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/iran-s-supreme-leader-says-tehran-will-not-be-bullied-by-us/a-49060184?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf

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