Iran has blamed foreign powers for escalating Gulf’s “insecurity”.
President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday raised his concerns over the presence of international powers in the Gulf, mentioning that Iran would propose a peace plan after the US ordered further deployments in the region.
Hassan Rouhani said foreign forces had always brought “pain and misery” and should not be used in an “arms race”.
“Foreign forces can cause problems and insecurity for our people and for our region,” Rouhani said during a speech at an annual military parade.
“In this sensitive and important historical moment, we announce to our neighbors that we extend the hand of friendship and brotherhood to them,” he added.
A year ago, President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled the U.S. out of the deal, which had been negotiated by the Obama administration, and since then has increased sanctions on the regime. As a reaction, Iran has warned the European powers still in the deal that it too would begin to back out of the agreement.
The tensions further increased after the destructive attacks of 14 September on Saudi oil facilities. Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels said they had carried out the attacks, but both the US and its closest ally Saudi Arabia, Iran’s biggest regional rival said Iran was behind these strikes, that Tehran has strongly denied.
After the recent attacks, which caused global oil prices to hike, Trump initially raised the possibility of military retaliation, tweeting that the US was “locked and loaded”.
Washington later expanded its lengthy list of sanctions against Tehran by further targeting its central bank, as Trump indicated he did not plan to strike back.
