Iran is facing its biggest economic pressure in the past 40 years because of crippling US sanctions, President Hasan Rouhani indicated, adding the dutiful government and Islamic system should not be blamed. 

Rouhani was speaking at the shrine of the founder of Islamic Republic, Khomeini, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Iranian revolution.

The President asserted that the country was not facing international isolation due to tensions with US, stating that Washington did not just break its promise to Iran, but it “showed the same lack of commitment to Europe, China, NAFTA, and Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).”

Rouhani said that most of Iran’s “problems are because of the pressure exerted by the US and its followers,” he said, adding that it was not right for some people to blame their system and government for that.

“The highest honor for us in recent years is our negotiations with the world powers and clinching moral, legal and political victory over them.”

Rouhani criticized people condemning the government instead of the US, saying it “is the greatest damage that can be done” to the country, adding that Khomeini “was not afraid of foreign powers, but concerned about domestic division”, reported Agence-France Presse (AFP).

Rouhani took another jab at opponents who have criticized Iranian diplomats' lack of foresight over not predicting the US withdrawal, saying that agreements are not based on whether the other party remains, “but the main basis is the country's interests.”

Last May, US President Donald Trump pulled out of an international nuclear deal with Iran and re-imposed sanctions.

In recent months, Iranian riyal fluctuated which made it difficult for average citizens to meet their needs. The country witnessed unprecedented protests in 2017 which included various working classes against the deterioration of living conditions.

The economic problems in Iran led to the ousting of several ministers, including minister of economy and labor, and changing the head of the central bank.

Hardliners have repeatedly hammered Rouhani for going into negotiations on the 2015 nuclear deal with six world powers since its early stages, calling it a fool's errand and a deception.

“Imposing sanctions on Iran to prevent us from selling our oil will be very dangerous,” state-owned ISNA news agency quoted Rouhani as saying, who added that Iran will resort to other methods to sell its oil. 

ISNA also announced the arrival of a second shipment of natural uranium to Natanz nuclear facility in Isfahan.

Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, said thirty tons of yellowcake from a production plant in the city of Ardakan in central Iran was sent to a uranium conversion facility in Isfahan on Wednesday. 

Salehi explained that the nuclear industry can’t exist without uranium, asserting it is a “strategic” element, and it would be useless to advance Iran’s nuclear industry without it.

He expected to extract 350 tons of Iran's natural uranium mines over the next five years.

Prior to arriving in Isfahan, IRNA news agency reported that Salehi criticized China for stalling working on its redesign of a heavy water reactor in Iran.

“The Chinese side decreased the speed of cooperation with us despite their commitments,” he said, adding that Iran has “alternative” choices if China cannot fulfill its job.”

Under the 2015 nuclear agreement, experts from the United States and China were to help Iran redesign the Arak heavy water nuclear reactor to limit the amount of plutonium it produces as a byproduct. After the US withdrawal, Iran said UK was replacing the US.

Salehi admitted that Iran obtained alternative pipes that the fuel goes through, before complying with the terms of the nuclear agreement, indicating that he could not declare them at the time. He added that only the Supreme Leader was aware of this.

He told IRNA that Tehran informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of the pipes. The Agency had not commented on Salehi’s statement, which could refer to a possible violation of Resolution 2231.

Iran says the purpose of Arak's facility for heavy water is "scientific and medical," but the facility has raised international concern that Iran is acquiring plutonium that can be used to produce weapons of mass destruction.