Iran resists against enemies of national interests

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani underlined the importance of self-belief and self-reliance for the country's progress, and said Iran should resist against the enemies of its national interests. "We should believe in ourselves, resist and don’t be afraid of the others' plots," Rouhani said, addressing a forum in Tehran on Tuesday. "We can resist against all powers who seek to move against our national interests, but with prudence and not mottos," he added. In relevant remarks in September, Rouhani lashed out at the US-led pressures and sanctions imposed against Iran, calling the West’s embargos as unlawful and contrary to the norms of civilized societies. “A majority of the UN member states, including the 120 Non-Aligned movement (NAM) members, have dismissed the sanctions against Iran as illegitimate, illegal and politically- motivated,” Rouhani said, addressing the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek. “These sanctions are an uncivilized move and a dangerous precedent and aim to disrupt the trend of Iran’s development …” he added. Iran says its nuclear program is a peaceful drive to produce electricity so that the world's fourth-largest crude exporter can sell more of its oil and gas abroad. Tehran also stresses that the country is pursuing a civilian path to provide power to the growing number of Iranian population, whose fossil fuel would eventually run dry. The US and its western allies allege that Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons program while they have never presented corroborative evidence to substantiate their allegations against the Islamic Republic. Iran is under four rounds of UN Security Council sanctions for turning down West's calls to give up its right of uranium enrichment, saying the demand is politically tainted and illogical. Iran has so far ruled out halting or limiting its nuclear work in exchange for trade and other incentives, saying that renouncing its rights under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) would encourage the world powers to put further pressure on the country and would not lead to a change in the West's hardline stance on Tehran. Tehran has repeatedly said that it considers its nuclear case closed as it has come clean of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)'s questions and suspicions about its past nuclear activities. Iranian officials have always shrugged off the sanctions, saying that pressures make them strong and reinvigorate their resolve to further move towards self-sufficiency.