Rouhani blasts sanctions against Iran in U.N. speech

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Iran's new president, Hassan Rouhani, blasted international sanctions against Iran on Tuesday, comparing them to the widely criticized punitive measures against Iraq while the late Saddam Hussein was in power. "These sanctions are violent, pure and simple," he told the U.N. General Assembly, adding that normal people, not political elites, ended up suffering because of them. "The negative impact is not nearly limited to the intended victims of sanctions." (Reporting by Louis Charbonneau; Editing by Sandra Maler)