TEHRAN – Vice President Es'haq Jahangiri has said Iran is a “peace-seeking nation” but does not fear military confrontation and will defend itself against enemies in case of a war.

Addressing people in the northwestern province of Zanjan on Tuesday, Jahangiri said the United States called for negotiations only after it realized that the Iranian nation would not fear their threats, the Fars news agency reported.

He said Iran is going through “special conditions” due to pressures imposed by the U.S. and some regional countries, adding that the Islamic Republic’s policy is to resist against the U.S. sanctions.

Iran has proven that it is not a warmongering nation, but a rational one, the vice president maintained. 

Jahangiri explained that good strategies have been developed to fight the U.S. economic pressure, expressing hope that Iran would pass through this critical juncture.

The U.S. has ratcheted up pressure on Iran since last year after withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Since then, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has been trying to reduce Iran’s oil exports to “zero,” and has sent an aircraft carrier strike group, a bomber squad, an amphibious assault ship, and a Patriot missile battery to the Middle East to try to stack up pressure on Tehran.

Also on Monday the U.S. military said it will send an additional 1,000 troops to the Middle East.

Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said the deployment was in response to what he called "hostile behavior" by Iranian forces.

Iranian officials have dismissed such moves as psychological warfare, saying the country has its own ways of circumventing the American bans and selling crude oil.

Meanwhile, a year after the U.S. withdrawal from the JACPOA, Iran announced that it would suspend the implementation of some of its commitments under the deal, which includes exporting excess uranium and heavy water, setting a 60-day deadline for the five remaining parties to the deal to take practical measures towards ensuring its interests in the face of the American sanctions.

MH/PA