TEHRAN – Government spokesman Ali Rabiei has called for unified efforts to nullify or lift the U.S. sanctions, referring to recent remarks by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as guidance to fight off the illegal sanctions.

In an article in the Iran newspaper published on Saturday, Rabiei said the Leader’s guidance showed that focusing on polarizing issues is pointless.

“Rather, let us continue with the consensus on focusing on these two strategies and their alignment, and accompany the government to achieve both of these goals together and in common,” he suggested.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the spokesman said foreign enemies are putting every effort to keep the sanctions on Iran in place.

Ayatollah Khamenei said in remarks on Wednesday that the officials should refrain from pinning hope on the lifting of sanctions and, instead, work to nullify the sanctions.

“Lifting sanctions is in the enemy's hands. Nullifying them is in ours. We should work more on nullifying than removing them. I don't say we shouldn't pursue removing sanctions. But sanctions that were supposed to be lifted according to the JCPOA, 4 years ago, have intensified,” the Leader said.

It was the second time in less than a month that the Leader underlines the need to nullify the U.S. sanctions on Iran rather than removing them. In late November, he said that Iran had tried to remove the sanctions but they were not removed.

“There are two ways to tackle sanctions: 1) removing sanctions 2) nullifying and overcoming them. We tried the first option, removing sanctions, by negotiating for a few years, but to no use. The second option may have difficulties in the beginning but will have a favorable end,” the Leader pointed out in November. “If succeed, through hard work and innovation, in overcoming the sanctions and the other side witnesses how sanctions were nullified, it will abandon sanctions gradually.”

On Thursday, President Hassan Rouhani said he is confident that the next U.S. administration will abandon its sanctions policy against the Iranian people and will bow under their “national power” and resistance.

Highlighting the importance of maintaining national unity, Rouhani said, “It is this national unity that engenders national power for us and forces the enemy to bow down in the face of the people’s rights.” 

“I am confident that the heroic steadfastness of the Iranian nation will make the next U.S. administration genuflect in the face of the people. This steadfastness will force them to return to their commitments [under the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran] and will create cracks in sanctions,” the president added.

The outgoing administration of U.S. President Donald Trump reimposed sanctions on Iran after he pulled out of the JCPOA, which was signed under his predecessor Barack Obama.

With Joe Biden’s victory, however, hopes have been raised over the survival of the nuclear deal. Biden has promised to return the United States into the JCPOA if Iran returns to full compliance with the deal.

MH/PA