Iranian President: US Exhausted Potential of Pressure on Tehran

TEHRAN (Sputnik) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that Washington had exhausted the potential of its pressure on Tehran and opined that the situation in the country had improved compared to last year.

"The Iranian nation should know that the pressures of the United States against our country have reached its highest point, and will overflow from now on ... Today, the Iranian nation are more relaxed than the last 6 months to one year and are more hopeful about their country’s future, and our authorities are more united," Rouhani said at a government meeting, as quoted by his website.

The Iranian president, however, added that the United States' pressure on Iran was unprecedented, arguing that even previous sanctions by the UN Security Council were no match for what Washington was doing.

"Despite all these pressures, we are in very good conditions; of course, this does not mean that we have no problems," Rouhani indicated.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have been running high. The United States has in recent weeks stepped up its forces in the Middle East in what US National Security Adviser John Bolton has called a clear and unmistakable message to Iran. The new US deployments in the region include an aircraft carrier strike group, Patriot missiles, B-52 bombers and F-15 fighters, according to the Pentagon.

The United States has also declared the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a terrorist organization. In response, Iran recognized the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) as a terrorist organization, and repeatedly called the United States "the state sponsor of terrorism."