TEHRAN - Abdel Bari Atwan, the editor-in-chief of the Rai al-Youm website, has told Al Mayadeen TV channel that the U.S. President Donald Trump has suffered defeats as Washington’s sanctions on Venezuela have been broken by arrival of Iran’s oil tanker.

President Hassan Rouhani’s warning about Tehran’s firm response in case of any harassment by the U.S. made Washington back down, IRNA quoted him as saying on Monday.

Rouhani warned on Saturday the U.S. against disrupting the shipments as the oil tankers passed through the Caribbean Sea on their way to Venezuela.

"If the Americans cause problems for our oil tankers in the Caribbean Sea, we will also cause problems for them," Rouhani said in a telephone call with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. 

Rouhani stressed that Iran did not want a new conflict with the U.S., but his country would reserve the right to defend its interests. 

"We, therefore, hope that the Americans will not make a mistake in this regard," said the president, according to comments published on his office's web portal.

NA/PA