Iranian President: America has lost both legally and politically

US President Donald Trump and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani. Photo: Getty

In a speech at Tehran University to mark the start of the new academic year, Mr. Rouhani emphasized: "Everyone knows that America lost both legally and politically by abandoning its international obligations, and we won."

“However, there are still a few countries in the world that consider the US decision to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA - the official name of the nuclear deal) as a good step. The cautious sides expressed disappointment, the more outspoken sides considered it a mistake, and the straightforward sides considered it an illegal action,” Mr. Rouhani added.

Iran's president said his country has nothing to lose by maintaining the nuclear deal, and affirmed that it can withdraw from the document whenever it wants.

Also in his speech, the Iranian President affirmed that the US sanctions against Iran's oil sector in November "will have no impact", because "the US has already done what it wants".

The Iranian leader said that the current US administration has an "unprecedentedly hostile" stance towards Iran, but affirmed that the Middle Eastern country will overcome sanctions with "unity and integrity".

According to Mr. Rouhani, his administration has allocated about 15 billion USD to buy essential goods in the current fiscal year, which ends next March.

For a long time, the Trump administration has asserted that the purpose of sanctions is not to overthrow the Iranian government, but to pressure the country to radically change its policies, including the development of ballistic missiles and support for terrorist groups in the region./.