"White House should know that our brave nation has always followed the school of martyrs. We only bow before the mighty God,” said Hassan Rouhani in his speech broadcast live on state TV.
"They think we surrender under the psychological pressure. We were not the starters of an economic war,” he said.
"You think you cut our oil exports or our relations with neighbor countries, which you definitely cannot," said Rouhani on the US sanctions against Iran's oil industry. "We will sell our oil and create closer ties with neighbors."
"They have failed to stop our oil export. We will keep exporting it," he added.
"Iran will stand in front of those who have imposed an economic war against us, so we will not surrender, but do our national responsibility and continue our path," Rouhani insists.
“Under any circumstances, we will not let people have any problems regarding basic goods. The necessary goods are either being produced in the country or will be imported,” he said. "I know that people's living condition is harder than in previous months and the prices have hiked."
"But exports can improve the production. We should improve tourism, exports of food, petrochemical, mineral and industrial materials," he added.