TEHRAN – President Hassan Rouhani says his administration has succeeded to neutralize sanctions by supplying essential goods for the people, according to Iran Press.

Speaking at a meeting of the government's economic coordination headquarters on Sunday, Rouhani stressed the need to increase non-oil exports in efforts to reduce dependence on oil revenues.

“The development of non-oil exports is crucial as one of the powerful tools of a resistance economy to counter oppressive and illegal U.S. sanctions,” he noted.

He emphasized that Iran had been able to neutralize the sanctions imposed on the people during the economic war, which were meant to create famine and economic insecurity in the country.

Donald Trump, the former president, unilaterally withdrew the U.S. in 2018 from the JCPOA, which required Iran to limit its nuclear program in exchange for the termination of economic and financial sanctions. The Trump administration imposed the toughest ever sanctions on Iran in order to strangulate the Iranian economy. 

Biden has said he will seek to revive the agreement but insisted that Iran must first reverse its nuclear steps. Iran has said it is still a party to the JCPOA and it has only taken remedial measures based on paragraph 36 of the JCPOA which has provided a mechanism to resolve disputes and allows one side, under certain circumstances, to stop complying with the deal if the other side is out of compliance.

Biden’s demand that Iran first returns to full compliance does not seem politically, legally, and rationally acceptable. From the very first day that Iran stated to reduce its commitments to the JCPOA, it stated that it will immediately reverse its decision if sanctions are lifted.

Iran started to reduce its commitments exactly one year after the U.S. abrogated the deal and imposed sanctions on Iran.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Leader of the Islamic Revolution, has said the U.S. must lift all sanctions in a verifiable manner if it wants Iran to meet its commitments under the nuclear agreement. 

“If (the U.S.) wants Iran to return to its commitments, it must lift all sanctions in practice, then we will do verification then we will return to our commitments,” the Leader asserted in his first comments on the matter after Biden took office.

EE/PA