Pres. Rouhani:

US talks of peace while threatening others with nukes

TEHRAN (defapress) – Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani criticized Washington’s “shameless” hypocrisy in talking about world peace all the while threatening other countries with its new nuclear arsenal.

News ID: 68454

Date: 04 February 2018 - 11:50

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani made the remarks on Sunday via a video conference broadcasting live at the unveiling ceremony of ten cultural centers and museums dedicated to the Sacred Defense in ten provinces across the country.

On Friday, the Pentagon released a new nuclear arms policy, known as the Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), that aims to revamp US nuclear arsenal and develop new low-yield atomic weapons. Iran's FM Zarif said the NPR "reflects greater reliance on nukes in violation of the NPT, bringing humankind closer to annihilation."

Stressing Iran’s resolve to boost defense capabilities as long as there is threat against the country, President Rouhani added that ‘legitimacy’ is the first line of defense in the war against aggressors.

“Once the legitimacy and righteousness of war become clear to the people, once they realize that the war is an act of defense and resistance against invasion, they will continue to persevere even if the war is to take eight to ten years,” Rouhani said.

He went on highlight people’s “trust” as the second “software” required in any defense against aggressors, adding “without trust in defense commanders and senior political authorities, people would not take up arms on the battleground.”

The president stressed that once the legitimacy of defense has been established, the hardships of war would become easier to handle.

“The Sacred Defense was the glorious and noble defense of a nation not against an aggressive regime, but against the entire world,” Rouhani said, referring to the Iraq’s invasion of Iran back in 1980, which lasted for eight years and claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Iranians and affected many more with chemical weapons.

“Our people understood very well that neither the United Nations, nor any regional states, nor even friendly countries, were going to back Iran in the imposed war, and that no one but themselves had to protect their country against invasion,” he added.