Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 5
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iranian president says that the cruel chain of sanctions imposed by enemies needs to be broken.
Hassad Rouhani said that although compensating for the effect of sanctions has not been easy, Iran would win in the end, and made reference to Iran's victory over Iraq after eight years war (1980-1988).
"Iran will stand self-reliant against the sanctions like what we have done during war with Iraq," Rouhani announced during a press conference aired by Iran's state TV IRINN Feb. 5.
Iran's president called on the nation to stand together and cooperate to break the chain of sanctions.
European Union and the United States imposed tight sanctions against Iran in mid-2012 designed to impede its nuclear program.
As a result, the country's GDP contracted 6.6 percent in 2013, the national currency devaluated more than twofold, the inflation rate soared to above 36 percent, and about $100 billion of assets remain blocked abroad, among other things.
Talks between Iran and the P5+1 (the US, UK, France, Russia, China plus Germany) group have been extended until July 1, 2015 to reach a comprehensive nuclear agreement.
After the sides failed to meet the 24 Nov. 2014 deadline they also extended the Geneva nuclear deal, which was signed in November 2013 for providing Iran with some sanctions relief in exchange for Tehran agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities.
The US and its Western allies suspect Iran of developing a nuclear weapon - something that Iran denies.
Edited by CN