In a Tuesday speech, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani stated that “despite all of the Americans’ efforts in the region and their desire to cut off our ties with all of the world and their desire to keep Iran secluded,” his country “will not wage war against any nation.” A day earlier, the United States government had announced the deployment of around 1,000 additional troops to the Middle East as the result of rising tensions between the US and Iran.
US-Iran relations have been deteriorating ever since the United States pulled out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal last year. The situation seems to have reached a critical point in the last week, with the US accusing Iran of carrying out the recent attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, and Iran warning that it will soon exceed the maximum amount of enriched uranium the country is allowed to store under the Iran deal. The escalating tensions are fueling global worries about a possible military conflict between the two countries.
Read more: Iran says it won’t wage war, U.S. deploys more troops to Middle East
