'Their final goal is to delegitimize the Islamic Establishment. And they have started with a mental war and an economic war to delegitimize us,' said President Hassan Rouhani, speaking at a ceremony marking beginning of the academic year in Iran.
Saying that Iran can pass through the situation with unity and solidarity, President Rouhani said, 'We can defeat the US in many fields; some may say, 'That's just a rhetoric. How can you defeat the US with such a power and political and economic leverage all around the world?''
'I have a question for them: Has the US been politically victorious against Iran in the past few decades or has it been defeated?'
Saying that only a few countries have supported the US exit from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as Iran Deal, he added, 'The conservative ones just express sorrow, the more explicit ones say the US made a mistake, and the most explicit ones say the US violated the law.'
'US President Donald Trump intended to exploit the United Nations Security Council to harm Iran and prove his policies against Iran; what response did he receive? All the other 14 members of the UNSC defended the JCPOA, and hence, Trump failed.'
'The US president, whose country hosts the UN, issues visas for the other countries officials who enter it and is also the rotating head of the UNSC, left the council empty-handed.'
Saying that it was due to Iran's righteousness and prudence, he said the US expected Iran to announce its exit from the deal, then they could take Iran's case to the UNSC again, the entire world would support the US and Iran would have been alone.
Saying that there has been no government in the US more hostile than the current administration of the US against Iran and the Islamic Establishment, he said, 'Iran showed prudence, didn’t haste, and unhurriedly announced that we wait a few weeks to see what other countries will do.'
'We will quit the deal whenever we want. Quitting is easy, like bringing a wall down; building it is hard.'
He said that the JCPOA is not important per se, but 'The national interests and security is of significance.'
Referring to the nationalization of oil industry in Iran during Mosaddeq's premiership, he said the UK filed a complaint against Iran at The Hague, but the court voted in favor of Iran.
'This time Iran filed a complained, which was victorious.'
Saying that the problem is that the US quit the international multilateral deal without any reason, he added the judge between us is the secretariat of the UN and above that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
'They both say that the US has made a mistake and Iran is righteous here. Politically speaking and in the eye of the international institutions and public opinion, we have been successful.'
President Rouhani said that if European companies terminate their cooperation with Iran, they will be fined by the European courts, and if continue with that, they will be fined by the US; 'Such an issue is unprecedented in the relations of the European Union and the US.'
Reminiscing his visit to New York to participate in the UN General Assembly, Rouhani quoted an important European country's prime minister as saying, 'Had I been told five years ago that one day I would support Iran in its fight with the US, I would have said, 'That's impossible. We are US allies, our securities and economies are interwoven.''
Now the US and the EU are countering each other. 'When Trump wanted to hold a meeting with the UNSC members, Iran, China, Russia and the EU held a meeting to counter US policies, which is a big happening, said the Iranian President.
Though the EU cannot convince European companies to work with Iran, all the governments are with Iran, he added.
