Iran facing 'unprecedented pressure' from sanctions, says Hassan Rouhani

Iran is facing 'unprecedented pressure' from international sanctions and the country could be under worse economic conditions than during the 1980-88 war with Iraq, said President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday.

Rouhani, who is facing domestic political pressure, has called for the unity among political factions to overcome the effect of sanctions.

"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," Iran's state news agency IRNA quoted Rouhani as saying.

"The pressure 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.

Hardliners have criticised Rouhani after US President Donald Trump withdrew from Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which Rouhani supported, and reimposed sanctions last year, reported Al Jazeera.

The Iranian President has also been abandoned by some of his moderate allies.The diplomatic tensions between the US and Iran are at an all-time high, as the former has imposed numerous sanctions on the country.

In addition to this, the Pentagon on Friday approved the deployment of a Patriot missile defence battery and a Navy ship to the Middle-East.

Last year in November, the Trump Administration re-imposed sanctions on Iranian oil exports following the United States' withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.