We will use "every opportunity" to lift US sanctions against Iran, says Rouhani

(Karachi) Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said that his government will use "every opportunity" to have the US sanctions lifted against Iran, AFP News reported on Wednesday.

Rouhani said that Iran believes in policy of peace and adherence. He stated that the nuclear programme improved Iran's economic situation. "Our goal is to have the oppressive sanctions lifted," Rouhani said. "Whenever we see an opportunity, we will do our job," he added.

The Iranian leader maintained that US President Donald Trump left the 2015 Iran nuclear deal after incitement from anti-Iran elements.

"The policy we have today is the same policy we had yesterday, and will have tomorrow as well," Rouhani said. "It is for the (new) US administration to decide if they want to approach this policy."

The Iranian president said the Trump administration did not possess knowledge of issues related to the foreign policy. He said Trump faced defeat in US elections against Joe Bide due to inefficiency in dealing with the coronavirus outbreak, not having good relations with the world and humiliation in international politics, especially in the United Nations.

Rouhani's statement comes in wake of Trump led United States administration's plan to impose a series of new sanctions on Iran before the presidential inauguration on January 20. The aim of the move is to make it more difficult for Joe Biden to return to the 2015 US nuclear deal.

The sanctions are reportedly not linked to the Iranian nuclear program but to Iran's ballistic missile program, assistance to terror organizations and human rights violations. In 2018, Donald Trump backed out of the agreement, saying it failed to curtail Iran's ballistic missile program and its influence in the region.

However, Democratic party leader Joe Biden's win has boosted hopes of revitalizing the Iran-US nuclear deal. Hassan Rouhani had said that an opportunity has come up for the next US administration to compensate for past mistakes and return to the path of complying with international agreements through respect of international norms.