Iran's Rouhani calls for unity to face "unprecedented" US pressure

Speaking on Saturday night in a frank and open meeting with political activists from across the political spectrum, President Rouhani described the current economic war against Iran as virtually unprecedented in the history of the Islamic Revolution. He called on all Islamic Revolutionary forces to unite and work closely together.

According to an Iran Press report, President Rouhani compared current conditions with those of eight years of imposed war, and said: "We can't say for sure if conditions today are better or worse than conditions during the eight-year-imposed-war, but what we can say is that during war years we didn't have restrictions on our imports and exports, and the only sanction imposed on us was with regards to arms purchase. During the eight-year-war we did not have sanctions and restrictions on our banks and financial sector, and we could freely sell our oil and petrochemical products."

Turning to current restrictions on Iranian banks, President Rouhani referred to 'extra expenses' for transfer of funds and credit, saying restrictions on our banking transactions have affected the sale of Iran's oil, petrochemical products, steel and agricultural produce.

Addressing the political activists gathered at the meeting, Rouhani said: "All of you are political activists, some of you are parliamentarians, some of you are senior managers, all of you are in important political posts, and you are aware of Iranian politics and the realities we face today. We expect you to contribute to finding the best political and economic solutions with least expenses and minimum costs."

Commenting further on US sanctions, President Rouhani said: "Surrendering to the enemy goes against our culture and religion, and the Iranian nation will never accept that. Thus we must not surrender to the enemy and we must find the correct solutions. An important question for the government is how many of these solutions can be implemented."

He added: "When different branches of the government work in unison, this gives hope to the general public, but when, for example, the government tries to adjust energy prices and the parliament (Majlis) opposes this, the general public are disheartened and disappointed."

In further comments President Rouhani said: "(Parliamentary) elections at the end of this year, may serve as a symbol of unity of the Iranian people."

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