DUBAI (Reuters) \u2013 Iranian President Hassan Rouhani predicted a \u201cdeluge\u201d of drugs, refugees and attacks on the West if US sanctions weaken Iran\u2019s ability to contain them.<\/p>\n
\u201cI warn those who impose sanctions that if Iran\u2019s ability to fight drugs and terrorism are affected \u2026 you will not be safe from a deluge of drugs, asylum seekers, bombs and terrorism,\u201d Rouhani said in a speech carried live on state television.<\/p>\n
Separately, Foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted as saying that the United States is selling more arms into the Middle East than the region needs, making it a \u201ctinderbox\u201d.<\/p>\n
US President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of a multilateral nuclear deal with Iran in May and reimposed sanctions on Iran\u2019s vital oil industry last month.<\/p>\n
Drug trafficking is a serious challenge for Iran as it borders Afghanistan \u2013 the world\u2019s largest opium producer \u2013 and Pakistan, a major transit country for drugs.<\/p>\n
In 2012, Iran accounted for two thirds of the world\u2019s opium seizures and one fourth of the world\u2019s heroin and morphine seizures, a UN report published in 2014 showed.<\/p>\n
\u201cEconomic terrorism means creating horror in a country and create fear in other countries that intend to invest (there). America\u2019s withdrawal from the (nuclear accord) is undoubtedly a clear example of economic terrorism,\u201d Rouhani told a meeting of heads of parliaments of China, Russia, and four other countries.<\/p>\n
Zarif warned about the dangers of large US arms sales in the Middle East, where Iran\u2019s regional rival Saudi Arabia is a major buyer of Western weapons.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Americans have turned the region into a tinderbox. The level of arms sales by the Americans is unbelievable and much beyond regional needs and this points to the very dangerous policies followed by the Americans,\u201d IRNA reported Zarif as saying.<\/p>\n
Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; Editing by Alexander Smith<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DUBAI (Reuters) \u2013 Iranian President Hassan Rouhani predicted a \u201cdeluge\u201d of drugs, refugees and attacks on the West if US sanctions weaken Iran\u2019s ability to contain them. \u201cI warn those who impose sanctions that if Iran\u2019s ability to fight drugs and terrorism are affected \u2026 you will not be safe from a deluge of drugs, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":117279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7863],"tags":[42519,44458,37293],"class_list":["post-117276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english-section","tag-hassan-rouhani","tag-iranian-president","tag-mohammad-javad-zarif"],"yoast_head":"\n