Scrapping Some Commitments Under Nuke Deal is 'Minimum' Measure - Iraninan President Rouhani

Tensions between the US and Iran have flared up after two oil tankers were reportedly attacked in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz. The United States pinned the blame on Iran, while Tehran refuted these claims as unsubstantiated.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that scrapping some commitments under the JCPOA was a 'minimum' measure Tehran planned to take in response to the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal and the subsequently reinstated sanctions.

In a speech broadcast by the state TV, the head of the government of the Islamic republic added that Iran has always protected the Strait of Hormuz.

The Iranian President underlined that Tehran won't be pressured to engage in talks with the US.

Iranian-US relations took a turn for the worse in May 2018, after the US unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and hit the country with tough energy and banking sanctions. In response, last month, on the one year anniversary of the US exit from the nuclear deal, Iran announced that it would withdraw from some of its voluntary commitments under the agreement. Tehran has stressed however that it has no intentions to pursue nuclear weapons.