Speaking to reporters on Wednesday after a meeting in Tehran with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Rouhani warned against any attack on the Islamic Republic.

“Iran will never initiate a war but will give a crushing response to any aggression,” Rouhani said at a joint news conference alongside the Japanese PM.

Despite increasingly poor relations with Washington, however, the president said that Iran would do its best to stay within the 2015 nuclear pact signed with world powers.

“Iran will remain committed to the deal, which is important for the security of the region and the world,” he said, adding “Tehran and Tokyo both oppose nuclear weapons.”

After his meeting with Rouhani, PM Abe said he hoped to play a role in mediating tensions between Tehran and Washington, stating that peace and stability in the Middle East is “indispensable” for global prosperity.

Rouhani indicated that Japan would like to continue buying Iranian oil, which is currently penalized by several layers of US sanctions, although it is unclear whether Japan intends to go forward with the purchases.

Reacting to the meeting in Tehran, US President Donald Trump lobbed critiques from the White House on Wednesday, telling reporters that Iran was “in chaos, they’ve got a lot of problems.”

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