Tensions are festering between the two countries after Washington sent more military forces to the Middle East in a show of force against what . officials say are Iranian threats to its troops and interests in the region. After pulling out of Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, . President Donald Trump restored. sanctions on Iran last year and tightened them this month, ordering all countries to halt imports of Iranian oil or face sanctions of their own.
"More than one year after the imposition of these severe sanctions, our people have not bowed to pressures despite facing difficulties in their lives," Rouhani was quoted by the state news agency IRNA as saying.
Addressing a ceremony in commemoration of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, he added: "We need resistance, so our enemies know that if they bomb our land, and if our children are martyred, wounded or taken as prisoners, we will not give up on our goals for the independence of our country and our pride."