IRAN: Tehran vows to continue oil exports despite US threats

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has vowed that Iran will stand firm against threats by the United States over oil shipments after Washington re-imposed economic sanctions on the Islamic republic. Speaking to state broadcaster IRINN on Wednesday, Rouhani said: “If the Americans want to keep this simplistic and impossible idea in their minds, they should also […]

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has vowed that Iran will stand firm against threats by the United States over oil shipments after Washington re-imposed economic sanctions on the Islamic republic.

Speaking to state broadcaster IRINN on Wednesday, Rouhani said: “If the Americans want to keep this simplistic and impossible idea in their minds, they should also know its consequences.”

“They can’t think that Iran won’t export oil and others will export.”

Rouhani did not specify what consequences the US could face, but in the past, Iranian officials have threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, a major shipping route in the Middle East, in retaliation for any US actions. 

The US has dismissed the threat as a bluff. 

During his meeting with North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho in Tehran on Wednesday, Rouhani warned him that the US was “an unreliable and untrustworthy” negotiating partner that did not honour “any of its commitments”.