Nuclear talks not solution to Iran's economic problems: Khamenei

Remedy for Iran's economic problems cannot come out of the ongoing negotiations over the country's nuclear program, but domestic determination is needed to deal with the issue, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said here on Wednesday.

"One cannot find solutions to economic problems outside of the country in Lausanne, Geneva and New York, but the real remedy for the problems is inside the country," Khamenei was quoted as saying by official IRNA news agency.

Iranian officials should focus on the boost of domestic production, he said, urging the people and the government to use homemade goods instead of foreign commodities.

Nobody can deny the impact of illegal sanctions on Iranian economy, but everybody knows well that embargoes cannot prevent the fulfillment of the programs for promotion of domestic production, he said.

Nevertheless, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said Tuesday that solving Iran's nuclear problem is the first step to tackle the fundamental issues in the country.

Iran's enemies have falsely accused the country of pursuing nuclear weapons and used the excuse to impose sanctions, Rouhani said, addressing a national festival of labor and productivity.

"We will prove that ill-wishers lied to the world," Rouhani said. "Then we will annihilate their sanctions."

With both sides being serious at the negotiating table, a comprehensive deal over Iran's nuclear issue is possible in the next few months, Rouhani said, suggesting sanction brokers to "think of other profession."

As the U.S. and Iranian negotiators are engaged in talks to hammer out the final details of a nuclear agreement, the White House is at loggerheads with some Republican lawmakers who are bent on derailing the deal.

The controversy was heated up over the past weeks as Iranian officials urged for the removal of economic and financial sanctions against Iran simultaneously with the implementation of a possible nuclear deal. However, the West, particularly some U.S. congressmen, have insisted on the gradual removal of sanctions.

Experts from Iran and world powers concluded a three-day meeting in Vienna on Friday after talks on technical details in the possible comprehensive deal to be reached before the deadline of June 30.

Negotiators will continue to draft the deal on the sidelines of the upcoming 2015 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

On April 2, Iran and the P5+1 group, namely the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China plus Germany, reached common understanding on outstanding issues ahead of the June 30 deadline for a comprehensive deal. Endit