Iran says to sell crude oil despite "cruel" U.S. sanctions

TEHRAN – Iran will continue selling its crude oil in the international market despite "cruel" U.S. new sanctions, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday. 

Iran will break the sanctions imposed by Washington on Tehran in the "appropriate" way, Rouhani said shortly after a round of fresh anti-Iran sanctions by the United States took effect on Monday. 

"With the help of the people, and the unity that exists in our society, we have to make the Americans understand that they must not use the language of force, pressure, and threats to speak to the great Iranian nation. They must be punished once and for all," Rouhani was quoted as saying by Press TV. 

The U.S. officials have come to the understanding that they could not replace the Iranian oil on the market, he said, adding that even if they did not grant waivers to some countries to keep trading oil with Iran, "we would still be able to sell our oil and we have adequate capabilities to do that." 

All the U.S. sanctions against Iran that had been removed under the 2105 Iranian nuclear deal were returned by the United States on Friday and came into force on Monday. 

The U.S. embargo targets many of the country's "critical sectors" like energy, shipping, shipbuilding, and finance.
Washington has accused Iran of agitating regional instability and exporting violence, which has been denied by Tehran. The U.S. President Donald Trump, who terminated the hard-won Iran nuclear accord on May 8, said that it was "one of the worst and most one-sided deals the United States has ever entered into." Enditem 
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