TEHRAN – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that the United States cannot achieve its objectives through applying policy of “maximum pressure” against Iran, suggesting Washington must stop all kinds of pressure if it seeks dialogue with Tehran.

“We announce to the United States’ officials that negotiations under maximum pressure is impossible. If you are honest and seek talks, you must stop all pressure against Iran,” Rouhani said during a cabinet meeting.

With an indirect reference to a claim by the United States that drones that struck Saudi Arabian oil facilities on Saturday morning were flown from Iran, Rouhani said the U.S. is seeking to increase pressure against Iran through leveling “unfounded” and “meaningless” accusations.

“Instead of leveling accusations, believe the people’s power. It is not the governments. It is the people who have risen,” Rouhani said in reference to the Yemeni people’s rebellion against the Saudi attacks on their country.

On the Yemeni drone attacks on Saudis’ oil facilities, Rouhani said, “Enemies of the region should learn from the Yemenis’ response and put out fire in the region.” 

“It was not the Yemenis who started the war. Saudi Arabia, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, the Zionist regime of Israel and certain European countries started the war and destroyed Yemen,” he lamented.

Elsewhere, Rouhani said that Iran seeks to have good relations with its neighbors.

‘World has launched campaign against dollar dominance’

Elsewhere in his remarks, Rouhani said that the world has launched a campaign to counter the dominance of dollar in global economic transactions.

“Today, we are glad that Iran’s banking relations with certain countries are being done without using SWIFT [Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication]. There was a time that the Westerners imagined banking relations should be done through SWIFT… however, a replacement has been created and we cooperate with Russia and Turkey by this replacement and in future, we will have interaction with Eurasian countries with it,” he explained.

Abdolnaser Hemmati, the governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), said on Monday that CBI’s financial telecommunications system, known as SEPAM, has replaced the SWIFT in the country’s financial transactions with Russia.

Referring to Iran’s upcoming membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Hemmati also noted that the system [SEPAM] can also be used for trade exchanges with the union’s member states for developing trade ties.

NA/PA