He made the remakes Sunday in Tehran while addressing the military parades on the occasion of the start of the Sacred Defense Week.
Wherever Americans have set foot, they increased insecurity, as it was proved in cases of Afghanistan and Iraq, he said.
The Iranian president noted that he is going to present an initiative in the UN General Assembly this week which will guarantee the security of the Persian Gulf and Hormuz Strait with the cooperation of regional states.
Then addressing those who claim to be worried about security in the Middle East, Rouhani said “If they are telling the truth, they’d better not turn the region into a stage of arms race … if they are after [establishing] security, they’d better get out of the region.”
“The presence of foreign forces can be dangerous for the region, international waters, as well as the security of shipping lines and energy, but our path is to create unity and coordination with regional countries," the president added.
He went on to say that the attempts by those who try to pin the blame for regional incidents on the Islamic Republic are “just like all of their exposed lies.”
Rouhani said that the 8-year resistance of Iranian nation against Saddam forces during the Iraqi imposed war in 1980s has made “today’s enemies of the country think twice before deciding any attack on our soil and imposing another war on our nation. They don’t have the courage to make a move against Iran’s great armed forces and nation and will never find that courage.”
He said that the enemy has chosen another path that it calls economic war but is in fact an act of ‘economic terrorism’ against the nation. “Our people have overcome the pressure of sanctions in the past 40 years, and in particular in the past 10 years; and today, they will also pass through this tough strait.”
Tensions in the region reached a record high last week after Yemeni forces targeted oil facilities of Saudi Arabia in retaliation of Saudi-led coalition’s aggression against the country. Still, US and Saudi officials rushed to blame Iran for the incident without providing any credible evidence. Tehran sent an official note to US warning that any aggression against its soil will be promptly responded.
Meanwhile, US is trying to build a coalition in the region which would purportedly safeguard shipping lines in the region and Hormuz Strait. Tehran has strongly condemned the move, noting that presence of foreign military forces will not establish security.
MAH/live
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