Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called Sunday for promoting trade with neighboring countries and boosting non-oil exports to face the impact of the US sanctions.
This came as the Iranian rial fell to a new low only three days after new US sanctions were announced against 18 Iranian banks.
Addressing the government’s Economic Coordination Committee session on Sunday, Rouhani said his government seeks to increase and develop non-oil exports in light of the most severe embargo imposed on the country.
“It is the duty of the competent authorities to remove administrative barriers in commercial relations with neighboring countries and make this matter a priority for their programs so that administrative red tape is addressed,” stressed Rouhani.
He also urged the Ministry of Economy and Finance to expedite the filling of the technical and administrative needs and deficiencies in the border customs departments and to establish a rapid mechanism for issuing approvals for entry and exit of goods.
Meanwhile, head of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations Kamal Kharrazi said on Sunday that the new US sanctions against 18 Iranian banking institutions aim to bring the Iranian nation to their knees.
Speaking to IRNA, Kharrazi said the objective behind all the US pressures was to bring the Islamic Republic to collapse, but fortunately, with the resistance of the people, the White House did not achieve its sinister goal.
For its part, Kayhan newspaper, which is known as the voice of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, accused on Sunday Rouhani’s government of greatly damaging the country by “ignoring” the warnings presented to him five years ago, about the presence of gaps in the Nuclear Deal.
