In remarks delivered before the Supreme Council on Foreign Relations on Monday, Aref said the administration of President Masoud Pezeshkian does not wish for the sanctions to continue—a veiled reference to certain political currents in the country that oppose diplomacy with the West to remove the economic bans.

Aref emphasized that the sanctions have adversely affected ordinary citizens, not just the government.

“If the aim of the sanctions was the government, they would not encompass many issues like the import of medicines and essential goods,” he noted.

Negotiations between Iran and European powers aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear deal are expected to resume before US President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House later this month.

In 2018, Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the UN-endorsed accord, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and re-imposed stringent economic sanctions against Iran that had been lifted in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear program.