Iran won't wage war against any nation: President Rouhani

He issues note of restraint after US says it will increase troops to Middle East, amid tensions over tanker attacks

A helicopter lifting off from aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea. The US' defence chief this week announced the deployment of about 1,000 more troops to the Middle East for defensive purposes. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
A helicopter lifting off from aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea. The US' defence chief this week announced the deployment of about 1,000 more troops to the Middle East for defensive purposes. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
A helicopter lifting off from aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea. The US' defence chief this week announced the deployment of about 1,000 more troops to the Middle East for defensive purposes. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
ACTING US DEFENCE SECRETARY PATRICK SHANAHAN
A helicopter lifting off from aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea. The US' defence chief this week announced the deployment of about 1,000 more troops to the Middle East for defensive purposes. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
IRANIAN PRESIDENT HASSAN ROUHANI

GENEVA/DUBAI • The United States announced that it would deploy more troops to the Middle East, prompting Iranian President Hassan Rouhani yesterday to issue a note of restraint, saying Iran would not wage war against any nation.

Fears of a confrontation between Iran and the US have mounted since Washington blamed its long-time foe for last Thursday's attacks on two oil tankers near the strategic Strait of Hormuz shipping lane.

Iran denied involvement in the attacks and said on Monday that it would soon breach limits on how much enriched uranium it can stockpile under a 2015 nuclear deal, which had sought to limit its nuclear capabilities.

Acting US Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan on Monday announced the deployment of about 1,000 more troops to the Middle East for what he said were defensive purposes, citing concerns about a threat from Iran.

The new US deployment is in addition to a 1,500-troop increase announced last month in response to tanker attacks then.

US President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 international nuclear deal last year, tightening sanctions and ordering all countries to halt imports of Iranian oil or be banished from the global financial system.

In a speech yesterday, Mr Rouhani dismissed US efforts to isolate Iran as unsuccessful and suggested that the Trump administration was inexperienced in international affairs. But he said his country did not seek conflict.

"Iran will not wage war against any nation," Mr Rouhani said in a speech broadcast live on state television. "Despite all of the Americans' efforts in the region and their desire to cut off our ties with all of the world and their desire to keep Iran secluded, they have been unsuccessful."

SPH Brightcove Video
Concerns about a confrontation between Iran and the United States have grown, but both sides say they have no interest in a war.

Iran's announcement that it would soon exceed the caps on its enriched uranium stockpile was denounced by a White House National Security Council spokesman as "nuclear blackmail".

The move further undermines the nuclear pact, but Mr Rouhani said on Monday that the collapse of the deal would not be in the interests of the region or the world.

The growing stand-off drew calls for restraint from Russia and China, both signatories of the nuclear accord, along with European powers.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned that the world should not open a "Pandora's box" in the Middle East, as he denounced US pressure on Iran and called on the US not to drop out of the landmark nuclear deal.

Russia told the US to cease actions that looked like a conscious attempt to provoke war with Iran, and urged restraint on all sides.

"What we see are unending and sustained US attempts to crank up political, psychological, economic and, yes, military pressure on Iran in quite a provocative way," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was cited as saying by Russian news agencies.

The European Union's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the grouping would react to any breach only if the International Atomic Energy Agency formally identified one.

The Trump administration says the deal, negotiated by former US president Barack Obama, was flawed as it is not permanent, does not address Iran's missile programme and does not punish Iran for waging proxy wars in other Middle Eastern countries.

The heightened Iran-US tensions have stoked fears of increased violence in countries where Iran and its Gulf Arab regional rivals are locked in a sometimes bloody struggle for influence.

Saudi Arabian air defences intercepted two drones fired by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi group, one of them targeting a residential area in the southern Saudi city of Abha, Saudi media said yesterday.

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 19, 2019, with the headline Iran won't wage war against any nation: President Rouhani . Subscribe