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Iran's president attempted to explain to parliament on Tuesday how he would pull the country out of its economic nosedive, taking shots at the U.S. before lawmakers voted to reject his explanation.

Iranian lawmakers had ordered President Hassan Rouhani to answer for his role in the faltering economy amid growing political divisions in the country. Rouhani claimed that newly reimposed U.S. sanctions after President Trump pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal would only serve to unify the country, according to Reuters.

I want to assure the Iranian nation that we will not allow the U.S. plot against the Islamic Republic to succeed, he told parliament. We will not let this bunch of anti-Iranians in the White House be able to plot against us.

Iran's currency, the rial, has lost more than two-thirds of its value in a year while the official unemployment rate sits at 12 percent.Youth unemployment, however, is as high as 25 percent in a country where 60 percent of the 80 million population is under 30, according to Reuters.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks in a session of the parliament while answering questions of lawmakers, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018.(AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Earlier this year, nationwide protests erupted over economic anxiety, and lawmakers fired Rouhani's labor and finance ministers this month amid the economic crisis.

IRAN CLAIMS IT CONTROLS STRAIT OF HORMUZ, PROMPTING POMPEO DENIAL

Speaking Tuesday before parliament, Rouhani said those protests only strengthened Trump's hand to pull out of the atomic accord.

"This lured Trump into saying that he will not remain in the deal," Rouhani said.

Rouhani failed to convince parliament on Tuesday that his plans will pull the country out of an economic nosedive worsened by America's withdrawal from the nuclear deal, further isolating his relatively moderate administration amid nationwide anger. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Lawmakers, however, were not satisfied with the president's answer and voted four separate times to say they were unconvinced of his answers about Iran's recession, its cratering currency, unemployment and smuggling, according to the Associated Press.

Those questions now could go to Iran's judiciary for further review, serving as a warning to the cleric his political stature is slipping.

IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL: WHAT IS IT?

In recent days, rhetoric from Iran has increased as a top Iranian Navy general said that the country has taken full control of the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo responded Monday night, saying: "The Islamic Republic of Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait is an international waterway. The United States will continue to work with our partners to ensure freedom of navigation and free flow of commerce in international waterways."

Military officials echoed similar statements on Tuesday at a briefing with reporters at the Pentagon.

"For decades, our forces have been posted in the Gulf, to ensure freedom of navigation and we will continue to do that," said Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Travis Fedschun is a reporter for FoxNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @travfed

Originally posted here:
Iran's president vows to overcome 'anti-Iranians' in White ...

A major shipping route located between Oman and Iran where nearly one-third of the world's sea-traded oil passes through daily may become a new flashpoint after a top Iranian Navy general said Monday that the country has taken full control of the Strait of Hormuz.

The head of the navy of Irans Revolutionary Guards, Gen. Alireza Tangsiri, said that Iran had full control of both the Persian Gulf itself and the Strait of Hormuz that leads into it,Reuters reported.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo responded Monday night: "The Islamic Republic of Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait is an international waterway. The United States will continue to work with our partners to ensure freedom of navigation and free flow of commerce in international waterways."

The strait, which at its narrowest point is 21 miles wide, has shipping lanes that are 2 miles wide in each direction and is the only sea passage from many of the world's largest oil producers to the Indian Ocean.

"It's a very contentious area," retired Lt. Col. Bob Maginnis told Fox News' "Your World with Neil Cavuto" earlier this month.

The Strait of Hormuz is where most of the oil from Saudi Arabia passes through, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The Saudis have constructed pipelines to bypass the strait, but a majority of crude oil is shipped by sea, meaning that any action by Iran to halt shipping may impact consumers across the world.

"The blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, even temporarily, could lead to substantial increases in total energy costs," the agency said in a 2012 report.

At the beginning of August, Iran began a large-scale exercise in the Strait of Hormuz involving more than 50 small boats, practicing swarming operations that could potentially shut down the vital waterway if ever deployed for real. The drill came after President Trump pulled the U.S. out of a landmark nuclear accord with Iran and leaders of both countries exchanged fiery rhetoric.

The country routinely operates small boats in the Strait of Hormuz and the surrounding area, and has often threatened to shut down the highly traveled waterway. Acheck of conditions on MaritimeTraffic.comon Monday showed that conditions appeared to be normal, with heavy maritime traffic through the strait.

In recent weeks Iranian President Hassan Rouhani renewed the threat, saying that if sanctions threatened Iran's crude oil exports, the rest of the Middle East's exports would be threatened as well.

"They're causing problems once again, as predicted, in the Strait of Hormuz," Maginnis said. "This is something we've grown accustomed too."

IRAN SAYS IT HAS CONTROL OF GULF AND STRAIT OF HORMUZ: REPORT

Military officials have said that U.S. and allies train to be able to insure that freedom of navigation continues in the Strait of Hormuz.(Reuters)

But if Iran were to follow through with any bluster to close down the vital shipping channel, a potential U.S. response would be swift.

"The U.S. and our partners provide and promote security and stability in the region on a daily basis," Lt. Chloe Morgan, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command spokesperson, said in a statement to Fox News on Monday. "Together, we stand ready to ensure the freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce wherever international law allows."

Gen. Joseph Votel, head of U.S. Central Command, said earlier this month that Iran was showcasing its military capabilities and has the ability to plant mines and explosive boats in the waterway, as well as use missiles and radar along the coast. He stressed the U.S. and allies routinely train for that possibility and are prepared to insure that freedom of navigation and commerce continues in those waters.

U.S officials say that Iran has the ability to ability to plant mines and explosive boats in the waterway, in addition to using missiles and radar along the coast.(Reuters)

"We are aware of what's going on and we remain ready to protect ourselves," he told reporters.

Fox News security analyst Walid Pharestold Fox Business Network's"Varney & Co." that the Iranians can damage the international passage "if they want," but that the U.S. can easily "intercept them, stop them, and damage their own capacity."

"It's kind of a brinkmanship capacity of gaming with us," Phares said. "I think the United States is very much attentive to what they are doing, and will respond if the Iranians will cross that red line."

IRAN DEPLOYS 50 SMALL BOATS TO STRAIT OF HORMUZ FOR LARGE-SCALE 'SWARMING' EXERCISE

The Strait of Hormuz, which at its narrowest point is 21 miles wide, has shipping lanes that are two miles wide in each direction and is the only sea passage from many of the world's largest oil producers to the Indian Ocean. (Reuters)

President Obama's former National Security Adviser Jim Jones, a four-star general, said in an interview earlier this month the Iranian Navy should be "wiped out" if any action is taken to block maritime traffic.

I personally would like to see, if they ever did something in the Strait of Hormuz, I would like to see their navy disappear," Jonestold The National.

Jones, who served as national security adviser for Obama from 2009 to 2010, also told the National that Iran's government is an "an existential threat to the region."

Iran has been active in Syria, backing the government of President Bashar Assad, while also stoking violence in the southern part of the country and triggering military counterattacks from Israel. The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have condemned Iran repeatedly for providing missiles to Yemeni Houthi rebels, who have fired toward Riyadh.

The Iranian officials recently threatened to block the waterway in retaliation for any hostile action by the U.S. government amid President Trumps remarks in July, which were prompted by the Iranian President Rouhani saying the U.S. risks the mother of all wars" with Iran.

Trump called for Rouhani to stop the rhetoric or in caps lock suffer the consequences the like of which few throughout history have ever suffered before. We are no longer a country that will stand for your demented words of violence and death. Be cautious!

Just over two weeks ago, Iran test-fired a ballistic missile as a brazen display of defiance, which coincided with the naval exercise, three U.S. officials with knowledge of the launch told Fox News at the time.

While the U.S. military publicly acknowledged the naval activity, the missile test from an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps base in Bandar-e-Jask in southeastern Iran has not been previously reported. The launch was detected by U.S. spy satellites.

Fox News' Nicholas Kalman, Lucas Tomlinson, Lukas Mikelionis and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Travis Fedschun is a reporter for FoxNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @travfed

See original here:
Iran claims it controls Strait of Hormuz, prompting Pompeo ...

(Reuters) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Monday urged the remaining signatories to its 2015 nuclear agreement to act to save the pact, although Frances leader called again for broader talks on Tehrans missile program and its role in the Middle East region.

FILE PHOTO: Iran's President Hassan Rouhani attends a news conference at the Chancellery in Vienna, Austria July 4, 2018. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo

In a phone call to French President Emmanuel Macron, Rouhani said Iran wanted the Europeans to give guarantees on banking channels and oil sales as well as in the field of insurance and transportation, according to the state-run Iranian news agency IRNA.

Iran has acted upon all its promises in the nuclear agreement and, with attention to the one-sided withdrawal of America ... expects the remaining partners to operate their programs more quickly and transparently, Rouhani was quoted as saying.

Rouhani was speaking in the light of U.S. sanctions reimposed by Washington after President Donald Trump in May pulled out of a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.

Macron reiterated Frances commitment to maintaining the accord, a remark aimed at soothing Tehran.

But he repeated his earlier calls for broader discussions with all relevant parties that would include Irans nuclear program after 2025, its ballistics program and its influence in the wider Middle East region.

We will do everything so that the talks help avoid a serious crisis in the months ahead, Macron said in an annual speech to French ambassadors.

Separately, the head of the navy of Irans Revolutionary Guards, General Alireza Tangsiri, said on Monday that Iran had full control of the Gulf and the U.S. Navy did not belong there, according to the Tasnim news agency.

Tehran has suggested it could take military action in the Gulf to block other countries oil exports in retaliation for U.S. sanctions intended to halt its sales of crude. Washington maintains a fleet in the Gulf that protects oil shipping routes.

Tangsiri said Iran had full control of the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz that leads into it. Closing the strait would be the most direct way of blocking shipping.

We can ensure the security of the Persian Gulf and there is no need for the presence of aliens like the U.S. and the countries whose home is not in here, he said in the quote, which appeared in English translation on Tasnim.

He added: All the carriers and military and non-military ships will be controlled and there is full supervision over the Persian Gulf. Our presence in the region is physical and constant and night and day.

Later on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a Twitter post: The Islamic Republic of Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait is an international waterway. The United States will continue to work with our partners to ensure freedom of navigation and free flow of commerce in international waterways.

The head of the Revolutionary Guards, Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, said on Monday that Irans enemies would not prevail in a conflict.

The enemies are strictly avoiding any conflict with Iran because they know that it will not be beneficial for them, Jafari said, according to Tasnim.

As tension has escalated between Iran and the United States, senior U.S. officials have said they aim to reduce Irans oil exports to zero.

Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the most senior authority in the Islamic Republic, said last month that he supported the idea that if Iran is not allowed to export oil, then no country should export oil from the Gulf.

Reporting by Babak Dehghanpisheh; Additional reporting by Richard Lough in Paris and Yara Bayoumy in Washington; Editing by Peter Graff, Richard Balmforth and Peter Cooney

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Iran president asks Europe for guarantees on banking channels ...

LONDON (Reuters) - Iran said on Tuesday it would boost its military might and also showcased a new fighter jet amid increased tensions with the United States and with regional rivals over conflicts in the Middle East.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the Islamic Republics military prowess was what deterred Washington from attacking it, adding that under President Donald Trump the United States was becoming isolated even from its own allies.

We should make ourselves ready to fight against the military powers who want to take over our territory and our resources, Rouhani said in a speech broadcast live on state television ahead of Wednesdays National Defence Industry Day.

Why does the United States not attack us? Because of our power, because it knows the consequences, Rouhani added.

Last week, Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also said the United States would avoid any military confrontation with Tehran because of Iranian military might.

Khamenei has rejected Trumps offer of unconditional talks on a new nuclear deal, prompting Trump to tell Reuters in an interview on Monday: If they want to meet, thats fine, and if they dont want to meet, I couldnt care less.

Relations between Washington and Tehran worsened further after Trump in May took the United States out of an international deal that curbed Tehrans nuclear program in return for an easing of economic sanctions.

Trump branded that 2015 deal as flawed because it did not address Irans missile program or involvement in conflicts in Syria and Yemen, and he has reimposed U.S. economic sanctions.

Rouhani compared the sanctions on Iran with the U.S. trade war with China and its new tariffs on some imports from Turkey and European countries.

Its not only us who do not trust America. Today even Europe and China do not trust them; even American allies like Canada have lost their trust, he said.

Earlier on Tuesday Rouhani attended a ceremony, broadcast by state TV, that included the fly-past of a new fighter jet called Kowsar, which Iran says is 100-percent indigenously made and able to carry various weapons and to be used for short aerial support missions.

However, some military experts believe the fighter jet is a carbon copy of an F-5 first produced in the United States in the 1960s.

The airframe appears to be an externally unaltered, two-seat F-5 tiger. Whilst it may be domestically manufactured, its an entirely foreign airframe, said Justin Bronk, a research fellow specializing in combat airpower and technology in the Military Sciences team at the Royal United Services Institute.

Its a very small lightweight fighter with very small engines which limits the thrust output, a very low internal fuel capacity which limits range, and a very small nose which limits the size and power of radar that you can fit, he told Reuters.

All of those constraints are not going to be changed by updating the internal components. While you might put a modern radar, or modern avionics - by Iranian standards - in there, it is still going to be subject to all limitations of the F-5 airframe.

Irans air force has been limited to perhaps a few dozen strike aircraft using either Russian or aging U.S. models acquired before the 1979 Iranian revolution.

Iran has sent weapons and thousands of soldiers to Syria to help prop up President Bashar al-Assads forces, but had to rely on Russia for aerial support due to its own lack of a powerful air force.

The Islamic Republic launched in 2013 what it said was a new, domestically built fighter jet, called Qaher 313, but some experts expressed doubts about the viability of the aircraft at the time.

Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Editing by Gareth Jones

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Eyeing U.S., Iran says to boost military might, showcases new ...

LONDON (Reuters) - Iran told OPEC on Sunday no member country should be allowed to take over another members share of oil exports, expressing Tehrans concern about Saudi Arabias offer to pump more oil in the face of U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil sales.

FILE PHOTO: A gas flare on an oil production platform in the Soroush oil fields is seen alongside an Iranian flag in the Gulf July 25, 2005. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/File Photo

In a meeting with OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo, a senior Iranian diplomat urged him to keep the group out of politics.

No country is allowed to take over the share of other members for production and exports of oil under any circumstance, and the OPEC Ministerial Conference has not issued any licence for such actions, Irans oil ministry news agency SHANA quoted Kazem Gharibabadi, the permanent envoy to Vienna-based international organizations, as saying.

In May, U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of an international nuclear deal with Iran and announced sanctions against the OPEC member. Washington is pushing allies to cut imports of Iranian oil to zero and will impose a new round of sanctions on Iranian oil sales in November.

Trump has called on OPEC to pump more oil to bring down prices. Energy ministers of Saudi Arabia, a U.S. ally, and Russia said in May they were prepared to ease output cuts to calm consumer worries about supply.

Iran believes that OPEC should strongly support its members at this stage and stop the plots of countries trying to politicize this organization, Gharibabadi said.

Regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran are involved in proxy wars, including in Yemen and Syria.

Iran and other signatories of the nuclear deal, including Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China, have been working to find a way to salvage the agreement despite U.S. pressures.

Iran has set a series of conditions for European powers if they want Tehran to stay in the nuclear deal, including steps by European banks to safeguard trade with Tehran and guaranteeing Iranian oil sales.

Irans vice president said on Sunday the government was seeking solutions to sell oil and transfer its revenues despite fresh U.S. sanctions.

In August, Washington imposed sanctions on acquisition of U.S. dollar by Iran, and its trade in gold and precious metals. Washington will reimpose on Nov. 4 sanctions on Irans oil exports, and banking sector.

We are hopeful that the European countries can meet their commitments but even if they cannot, we are seeking solutions to sell our oil and transfer its revenues, Eshaq Jahangiri was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA.

In similar remarks, Iranian foreign minister praised the European signatories for their efforts to salvage the deal, especially for EUs so-called blocking statute that aims to mitigate the impact of U.S. sanctions for European businesses.

However, Mohammad Javad Zarif said such measures have not been enough.

The European have so far expressed their stance, but have failed to present an action plan ... We believe the Europe is not ready yet to pay a price, Zarif was quoted as saying by the Young Journalists Club (YJC) website.

Zarif also tweeted on Sunday that the formation of a new Iran Action Group in the U.S. State Department to coordinate Trumps pressure campaign against Iran aimed to overthrow the Islamic Republic, but it would fail.

Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Editing by Jane Merriman and David Evans

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Iran says no OPEC member can take over its share of oil ...