TEHRAN – The Iranian president says the enemy will not be able to bring Iranians to their knees through sanctions and threats.

“The enemy will only dream of crippling us through sanctions and threats if we remain united,” said Masoud Pezeshkian in a ceremony held to recognize benefactors building schools. His remarks come at a time when the West has reinstated illegal sanctions on the country.

The UK, France, and Germany triggered the snapback on August 28, setting in motion a 30‑day process to restore all UN sanctions on Iran.

Despite last‑minute efforts by Russia and China to preserve diplomacy, the UN Security Council failed to reach consensus on September 26. Two days later, the E3 and the United States declared the sanctions reinstated and urged UN member states to enforce them.

Tehran has categorically rejected the claim, insisting that it was the United States and its European allies who undermined the 2015 nuclear deal by failing to honor their commitments. Iranian officials maintain that no UN member state is obliged to comply with the unilateral and unlawful measure.

Iran’s position is anchored in UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the 2015 nuclear agreement and formally lifted earlier sanctions on Tehran’s nuclear program. Iranian officials stress that the resolution established a clear, time‑bound framework under which all nuclear‑related restrictions are set to expire permanently on October 18, 2025. The 2231 resolution itself expired on Friday.

The U.S. also acted in collusion with the Israeli regime to launch military aggression against Iran.

On June 13, Israel launched a blatant and unprovoked act of aggression against Iran, triggering a 12-day war that killed at least 1,064 people in the country, including military commanders, nuclear scientists, and ordinary civilians.

The United States entered the war by bombing three Iranian nuclear sites in a grave violation of international law.

In response, the Iranian Armed Forces targeted strategic sites across the occupied territories as well as the al-Udeid air base in Qatar, the largest American military base in West Asia.

Iran has proposed to hold talks with the U.S. in the presence of third parties, but Washington has turned down Iran’s offer.

The U.S. has, on numerous occasions, made excessive and irrational demands, namely asking Iran to reduce the range of its missile, a demand Iran has strongly refused to accept. So, Washington has been trying to ratchet up the pressure on Iran through sanctions.

Meanwhile, there are unverified reports that the United States is trying to get engaged in a marine confrontation with Iran, in a bid to restrict the country’s oil exports. The Biden administration previously tried to seize Iranian oil tankers heading to consumers but was forces to drop the strategy after Iran’s Navy made tit-for-tat moves.

Iran has constantly refused to give in to pressure by the United States, insisting that sanctions and threats will have no bearing on the country’s will to move forward on the path to progress.