TEHRAN – U.S. President Donald Trump should realize that the civilized people of Iran become more united when bullied, Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani said on Tuesday.

“If they understand these words, many of their problems would be resolved,” he added, Mehr reported. 

Larijani made the remarks in a speech ahead of the 31st anniversary of the U.S. downing of an Iranian passenger plane, Iran Air Flight 655.

Iran Air Flight 655 was a scheduled passenger flight from Tehran to Dubai via Bandar Abbas, which was shot down on 3 July 1988 by an SM-2MR surface-to-air missile fired from USS Vincennes, a guided missile cruiser of the United States Navy. The aircraft, an Airbus A300, was destroyed and all 290 people on board, including 66 children, were killed.

“The Americans claimed that the captain of Vincennes had mistakenly identified the airliner as an attacking military fighter,” Larijani said.

“If he made a mistake, why did you give him a medal?” he asked.

The parliament speaker added that such contradictions are evident in Washington’s actions, especially with regard to the incumbent U.S. president. 

The problem with the U.S. is that they do not know the Middle East, especially the Iranian nation, and they think they can occupy a country by brining four carriers to the region, Larijani remarked.

“Throughout history, Iranians have shown that they have a strong will and national unity,” he insisted.

He also referred to the White House’s maximum pressure policy against Iran after withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear agreement, saying the Americans wrongly assumed that the Iranian nation would surrender if they impose such threats and sanctions.

On May 8, 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew his country from the JCPOA. Ever since its withdrawal, the U.S. has occasionally imposed new sanctions against the Islamic Republic in line with its “maximum pressure” on Tehran. 

The latest rounds of U.S. sanctions were announced last month, targeting top Iranian officials, including the office of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and senior commanders of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

MH/PA