“The Iranian economy does not await the lifting of sanctions and it is impossible to impose an economic embargo on Iran,” Mohammad Nahavandian, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s chief of staff, said.
Nahavandian dismissed the effectiveness of economic embargoes against Iran, as the country’s neighbors have a vested interest in the Iranian economy, noting, “Our success in diplomacy with the neighbors on the one hand and our achievement in creating economic stability are two important messages to the [ongoing] nuclear talks [between Iran and six world powers].”
Last November, Iran and the P5+1 group - France, Britain, the US, Russia and China, plus Germany - clinched an interim nuclear accord that took effect on January 20 and expired six months later. However, they agreed to extend their talks until November 24 as they remained divided on a number of key issues.
The volume of Iran’s uranium enrichment and the timetable for the removal of sanctions are among the major bones of contention in the talks.
Nahavandian pointed to Tehran’s success to put an end to its stagflation and said that the country’s inflation rate is now below 20 percent, stagnation has ended and the signs of economic recovery are emerging.
“ran is not a country to restrict its options and interact with another country out of necessity. Iran is a rational state with various options and those who are aware of the Iranian people’s rights and interests will gain benefit in their relation with Iran,” he said.
Iran’s economic growth rate turned positive in summer after the country experienced months of stagflation, suffering negative economic growth combined with rising inflation rate (beyond 40 percent).
New projections released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its World Economic Outlook predicted that Iran will grow 1.5 percent this year, followed by 2.3 percent in 2015.
