US Should Realize It Is Not World’s Leader: Iranian President

Speaking at a Tuesday meeting with the new ambassador of Australia to Iran, Rouhani referred to the imposition of “illegal sanctions” by the US as “a greave political and economic mistake” in violation of international rules and regulations.

Independent countries should stand up to the US’ illegal actions and make it understand that everyone should act based on the law, he continued.

“It is unprecedented in the history (of international relations) that the US wants to punish countries that are acting based on UN resolutions,” he said, referring to the US sanctions against Iran, which violate the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231.

The US should not be allowed to violate its international commitments, he said, adding, “The US must understand that it is not the world’s leader.”

The new ambassador, Lyndall Sachs, for her part, called for deepening economic and trade relations between Iran and Australia. 

Earlier this month, Iran took the 4th step in reducing its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in reaction to the US violations of the deal and the continued failure of the European parties to meet their obligations to the agreement.

In May 2018, US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the JCPOA and later reimposed the US sanctions against Iran.

Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the JCPOA after the US withdrawal, but the three EU parties to the deal (France, Britain, and Germany) have failed to ensure Iran’s economic interests.

The EU’s inaction forced Tehran to stop honoring certain commitments to the nuclear deal, including a rise in the stockpile of enriched uranium.

Iran maintains that the new measures are not designed to harm the JCPOA but to save the accord by creating a balance in the commitments.