TEHRAN- Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has stated that despite the enemies' attempts to halt the nation's advancement, the people remain enthusiastic to moving forward.

The president made the remarks in a special televised interview on Tuesday night.

Raisi said the recent riots in Iran were planned by the Islamic Republic's adversaries in retaliation for their sanctions failure to obstruct the country's economic advancement. 

He added that the foreign-backed uprisings and the sanctions were two sides of the same coin.

The president emphasized that the sanctions have been unable to halt production, impede the country from witnessing 5% economic growth, or the creation of over one million jobs across the country.

“Whatever the enemy was after, has been contrarily realized thanks to the nation's will and the government's intention to serve the people,” Raisi underlined, adding, “Therefore, it is natural that the enemy should be angry at us.”

The president went on to say, “One of the causes behind the enemy's instigation of the recent riots was the precise fact that it was watching the neutralization of their sanctions owing to the work of our statesmen and the perseverance of the people.”

He declared that the country's development will gain more impetus every day because of the nation's willpower and the government's desire to be at the nation's service. 

“While the adversaries are trying to hinder the country's growth, our people have determined to march forward,” he said.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the president listed the accomplishments of his administration, including reducing the country's 60 percent inflation rate to 40 percent, ending budget deficit, and raising economic growth rate from 4 percent to 4.4 percent in just six months after taking office.

The administration was also attempting to ‘de-dollarize’ the staples so that a prospective increase in the value of the dollar would not have a negative impact on the price of the commodities, he pointed out. 

Raisi also cited smuggling and under-provision of basics by suppliers as two major factors for the price hike.

He noted that the recent riots had reduced revenues across the country, raised the dollar's exchange rate, but assured the people that the government's foreign exchange reserves were now at a “proper and reliable” level.

Raisi also called on exporters to bring their foreign exchange earnings back home so that the Central Bank could have more control over foreign reserves.