Despite all pressures, US failed to cause Iran’s economy to collapse: First VP

Iran’s first vice president says the United States has failed in its plan to make the Iranian economy collapse despite all pressures that Washington has mounted on various economic sectors of the country.

Speaking at an administrative meeting on Monday, Es’haq Jahangiri added that the Iranian economy was faced with many problems and hardships during the current Iranian calendar year (which ends on March 20), but the country managed to overcome pressures.

“Americans exerted heavy pressure on the main economic sectors [of Iran], including oil and transportation, during the current year to make the country’s economy collapse, but … this did not happen and we managed to weather all pressures through planning, hard work and people’s resistance,” Iran’s first vice president said.

He expressed hope that the country’s officials would make further efforts to reduce Iranians’ problems to a minimum and improve people’s livelihood conditions in the next Iranian calendar year.

US President Donald Trump withdrew Washington in May 2018 from a landmark nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), reached between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries in 2015, and decided to re-impose unilateral sanctions against Tehran.

Under the deal, Iran undertook to put limits on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions.

Trump’s administration announced re-imposition of the “toughest” sanctions ever against Iran’s banking and energy sectors with the aim of cutting off the country’s oil sales and crucial exports.

Back in February, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said the Iranian nation will stand firm in the face of an “economic” and “psychological” war being waged by the US against the Islamic Republic.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Rouhani said Washington is targeting the Iranian nation with an “economic, propaganda and psychological war” and added, “The nation will once again defend its dignity and independence, and will not surrender to the enemy.”