Iran’s Private Sector Able to Neutralize Weapon of Sanctions

Tasnim News – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani reiterated his administration’s policy to help boost the country’s economy and said Iran’s private sector is capable of neutralizing “the weapon of sanctions” and turning the embargoes to opportunities.

“If we side with one another, we will turn any sanction into an opportunity,” Rouhani said in a meeting with a group of university professors and business activists in Tehran on Sunday. “The private sector is capable of neutralizing the weapon of sanctions and creating opportunities,” the president added.

He further pointed to Iran’s international status following the US moves in violation of the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and said, “Today, except for a few countries, the overwhelming majority of countries condemn the US’s malicious moves against Iran.”

“The Islamic Republic of Iran is enjoying legal international support by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reports and this makes it hard to prove claims against the Islamic Republic,” he added.

“Of course, we should properly use the opportunity that lies ahead of us”, he said, adding, “Today, the conditions have changed and if we act rightly, we can take advantage of these conditions to the benefit of our country.”

In a speech from the White House on May 8, US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the JCPOA, which was achieved in Vienna in 2015 after years of negotiations among Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).

Following the US exit, Iran and the remaining parties have launched talks to save the accord.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has underlined that any decision to keep the JCPOA running without the US should be conditional on “practical guarantees” from the three European parties to the deal.

In comments on May 23, Ayatollah Khamenei stressed that Europeans must protect Iranian oil sales from the US pressure and continue buying Iranian crude, and must promise they would not seek new negotiations on Iran’s missile program and regional activities.

“European banks should safeguard trade with the Islamic Republic. We do not want to start a fight with these three countries (France, Germany and Britain), but based on their past records, we don’t trust them either,” the Leader said. “Europe should fully guarantee Iran’s oil sales. In case Americans can damage our oil sales…, Europeans should make up for that and buy Iranian oil,” Ayatollah Khamenei stated.