“1,000 nuclear sites will be built if enemy hits 100 sites”

“The enemies want us to be humiliated before them with sanctions and threats but we will not be subjugated and we will solve our problems by relying on the people,” Pezeshkian said in a meeting with intellectuals and elites of the southern province of Bushehr on Thursday, according to Press TV.

He slammed the United States’ contradictory approach to Iran, saying US President Donald Trump claims that he wants to negotiate with Iran but at the same time imposes the toughest sanctions against Tehran.

“We do not want anyone to sanction us,” Pezeshkian said, adding, however, “It is not that if the US imposes sanctions on us, we cannot do anything. We will run the country by reliance on domestic capabilities.”

He reiterated Iran’s policy to interact with all countries in a spirit of peace and fraternity, emphasizing, “We strive to establish cordial and friendly relations with our neighbors.”

Pezeshkian expressed Iran’s keenness to negotiate and criticized Washington’s claims about its willingness to hold talks with Tehran while restricting the access of Iranian people to essentials, including medicine.

The president added that solidarity, interaction and planning play a key role in settling domestic problems.

On February 6, the United States imposed its first set of sanctions on Iran after Trump revived his so-called maximum pressure strategy against the Islamic Republic.

The move came two days after the American president said he was willing to revive negotiations with Iran but signed an executive order, restoring his so-called “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran.

The president said elsewhere on the same visit to the southern province on Thursday that “The enemy is threatening to hit our nuclear facility. Come and hit it, it is the brains of our ardent experts that built it. If you hit a hundred, our experts will build a thousand.”