Rouhani: Sanctions Have No Impact on Economy; America Seeks to Pressure the People

In response to the new sanctions imposed by the United States, Hassan Rouhani reiterated on Saturday, November 10, that the sanctions have had no impact on the country's economy, stating that the U.S. government is "seeking to pressure the people." The Iranian president made these remarks after a meeting with the heads of the other two branches of government, which were broadcast on state television. According to Rouhani, the U.S. is not trying to pressure the "system and government," but is instead aiming to exert pressure on the Iranian people. He believes that these new unilateral sanctions, which were announced just a week ago, are intended for psychological impact against the Iranian nation and have no other purpose. He stated, "In this round of sanctions, which began on November 5, we have seen that they have had no impact on the country's economic process because the Americans had already used all their arrows against the Iranian people and had nothing new to offer." Donald Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear agreement with Iran, known as the JCPOA, in May of this year and ordered the reinstatement of all sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran. These sanctions were implemented in two phases. In the second phase, U.S. officials announced on Monday, November 5, the reinstatement of all sanctions against Iran's oil and gas industry as well as its shipping sector. However, it was announced that eight countries, including China, India, Japan, South Korea, Turkey, Italy, Greece, and Taiwan, would be temporarily exempt from these sanctions. In the few days since the implementation of these comprehensive sanctions, several high-ranking U.S. officials, including Brian Hook, head of the Iran Action Group, and John Bolton, National Security Advisor at the White House, have reported a "significant" impact on the Islamic Republic. In contrast, Rouhani attempted to explain on Saturday that these sanctions have had no effect on the country's economy. He also emphasized that the U.S. will not be able to bring Iran's oil exports to zero as promised. He stated, "In the region, either all oil is exported, or if Iran's oil exports are to be stopped, others will face problems as well." The Iranian president continued to argue that the goal of Donald Trump's government with these new sanctions is more to pressure the people than the leaders of the system. He pointed out that "their actions are for psychological impact against the Iranian nation" and said, "They had to make another retreat and say that the issue of food, medicine, and medical equipment is an exception, which is also incorrect and inaccurate, because when they sanction the banking system, everything is affected." In contrast, several U.S. officials have previously emphasized that the aim of the sanctions is not the Iranian people, but rather to pressure the Iranian government to change its behavior in the region and the world. For instance, last Tuesday, Brian Hook, the U.S. Special Representative for Iran, reiterated in a video addressed to the Iranian people that the aim of U.S. sanctions is solely to "change the destructive behavior" of the Islamic Republic and that these sanctions do not target humanitarian transactions such as medicine and food. However, Iranian officials claim that even banks that have played a "key role in importing food and medicine" have been sanctioned "on the pretext of connections with the Basij through eight intermediaries."