The president made the remark on Thursday as he addressed artists and handicraft workers from four cities located in the southeast of Tehran Province. 

“We do not get worried about oil sanctions as long as we have national assets of specialists, elites, manufacturers, industrialists, and artists,” said Pezeshkian, emphasizing that enemies’ plots against the Iranian people will gain no results.

The president however added that the pressure by the United States is felt because Iran has restricted itself to oil and gas resources.

“As long as we are dependent on our underground resources, we will get into troubles if their sales are prohibited,” he said, stressing the need for facilitating activities by Iranian manufacturers, artists, tradesmen, and scientists as part of efforts to rely more on human resources than natural ones.   

Early last month, U.S. President Donald Trump restored a “maximum pressure” campaign against the Islamic Republic, which aims to completely halt Iran’s oil exports.

Trump, who is now serving his second term, initially launched the campaign in 2018 when he withdrew the U.S. from the Iran deal.