Hassan Rouhani
Hassan RouhaniReuters

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday called for unity among Iran’s political factions to overcome conditions which, he said, may be harder than those during the 1980s war with Iraq, Reuters reported.

“Today, it cannot be said whether conditions are better or worse than the (1980-88) war period, but during the war we did not have a problem with our banks, oil sales or imports and exports, and there were only sanctions on arms purchases,” Rouhani said, according to the state news agency IRNA.

“The pressures by enemies is a war unprecedented in the history of our Islamic revolution... but I do not despair and have great hope for the future and believe that we can move past these difficult conditions provided that we are united,” he added.

Pressure on Iran has increased since US President Donald Trump pulled out of the 2015 deal last May. He later imposed two rounds of sanctions against Iran.

This week, Iran announced it would reduce some of its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal, though it would not quit the deal completely. The US responded by imposing new sanctions on Iran’s iron, steel, aluminum, and copper sectors.

On Thursday, Trump urged Iran’s leaders to talk with him about giving up their nuclear program but also made clear he could not rule out a military confrontation with the Islamic Republic.

Rouhani has been criticized by Iranian hardliners ever since Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal. However, has also been abandoned by some of his moderate allies, noted Reuters.