Iran says it does not want to wage war, Russia calls on the US to stop fueling tensions: The Standard

President Hbadan Rouhani said Tuesday that Iran would not make war on any nation, while Russia told the United States to drop what they called provocative plans to deploy more troops to Middle East.

Fears of a confrontation between Iran and the United States have increased since Washington blamed its long-time enemy for Thursday's attacks on two oil tankers near the strategic shipping lane of the Strait of Hormuz.
Relations had already deteriorated after President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from an international pact under which Iran agreed to limit its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
Since the release of this agreement last May, Trump has reinstated and expanded US sanctions, forcing countries around the world to boycott Iranian oil or face their own sanctions.
Tehran, which denied any involvement in tanker attacks last week and in May, urged other signatories to take action to save the nuclear pact or to see Iran turn its back on the agreement .
On Monday, Iran warned that it would soon exceed the limits on the amount of enriched uranium it can store under a 2015 nuclear deal, which aimed to limit its nuclear capabilities.
Exceeding the uranium ceiling at the heart of the deal could trigger a diplomatic crisis, forcing other signatories, including China, Russia and the European powers, to confront Iran.
The National Security Council of the White House has condemned this development, described as "nuclear blackmail."
The growing stalemate has led to calls for restraint on the part of Russia and China, both signatories of the nuclear deal.
The top Chinese diplomat warned that the world should not open a "Pandora's Box" in the Middle East, while he was denouncing US pressure on Iran and asking him not to withdraw from the Historic nuclear agreement.
Russia asked the United States to stop actions that sounded like a conscious attempt to provoke war with Iran, and called for restraint from all parties.
"What we are seeing is the relentless and sustained attempts by the United States to provoke political, psychological, economic and military pressure on Iran in a very provocative manner," said the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. foreigners, Sergei Ryabkov, quoted by Russian news agencies.
"They (these actions) can only be considered as a conscious means of provoking war," he said.

IRAN DEFIANT

Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan announced Monday the deployment of about 1,000 additional troops in the Middle East for defensive purposes, citing concerns about a threat from Iran.
The new US deployment adds to the 1,500-strong increase announced last month as a result of oil tanker attacks in May. Washington had previously tightened the sanctions, ordering all countries and all companies to stop Iranian oil imports or be banned from the global financial system.
Rouhani said Iran was not seeking the conflict and rejected US efforts to isolate Iran and hinted that the Trump government was inexperienced in international affairs.
"Iran will not wage any war against any nation," Rouhani said in a speech broadcast live on public television. "Despite all the efforts of Americans in the region and their willingness to cut our ties with the world and keep Iran isolated, they have failed."
On Monday, Iranian officials made several badertive comments about security, including Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, who said Iran was responsible for Gulf security and called on US forces to leave the country. the region.
Iran-United States raised. Tensions fueled fears of an increase in violence in countries where Iran and its Gulf regional rivals are grappling with a sometimes bloody struggle of influence.
Saudi air defenses intercepted two drones fired by the Iranian-aligned Yemeni Houthi group, one of which was targeting a residential area of ​​Abha, in southern Saudi Arabia, said Tuesday. Saudi media. The group's Al Masirah TV channel said the Houthis had launched drone attacks on Abha airport.
Three rockets landed Monday on a military base hosting US forces north of Baghdad, a statement from the Iraqi army said Monday, without providing more details. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
US officials said last month that Iran-backed militias are increasingly threatening US interests in Iraq and that the US embbady in Baghdad has evacuated hundreds of its staff.

WARNINGS

The 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran aimed to avoid any path leading to an Iranian nuclear bomb.
The Trump administration said the deal, brokered by its Democratic predecessor, failed to respond to the Iranian missile program and did not punish it for waging proxy wars in other Middle Eastern countries.
Rouhani said Monday that the failure of the agreement would not be in the interest of the region or the world. Ryabkov, of Russia, has repeatedly said that Moscow and its regional allies have been warned against "reckless and reckless tension in an explosive region."
In Beijing, Chinese State Councilor Wang Yi told reporters that the United States should not use "extreme pressure" to solve their problems with Iran. China, Iran's close energy partner, was "very concerned" by the situation in the Gulf and by Iran, and urged all parties to ease tensions.

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President Hbadan Rouhani Middle East President Donald Trump