Iran vows removal of "oppressive" sanctions to revive economy

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday calls on nation to remove the "oppressive" western sanctions so as to make the economy thrive.

By the removal of the sanctions, capital could flow in, and financial, environmental, industrial and employment issues would be solved, Rouhani was quoted as saying by IRIB.

He criticized the West for the imposition of sanctions on Iran, saying that "those who exerted sanctions on Iran made an oppressive move against the Iranian nation."

"These sanctions are like fever. At its early stage, the person says it is not important and does not care," Rouhani said, adding that but when the fever intensifies and starts to affect, then it is late and he should strive to recover.

On Saturday, Iran's senior nuclear negotiator, Abbas Araqchi, said the ongoing talks were very difficult and complicated. "It is advancing very slowly."

On Nov. 24, 2013, world powers and Iran reached an interim agreement on Iran's nuclear program, which demanded Iran suspend some sensitive nuclear activities in exchange for limited sanction relief to buy time for diplomatic efforts to resolve the issue.

Negotiators agreed on a framework of understanding early April and set June 30 as a self-imposed deadline for reaching a final deal after missing the previous two deadlines in June and November last year.

Iran's nuclear program has long been a subject of concern for western powers, who believe it to be geared toward developing nuclear weapons. Iran insists it has an inalienable right to develop its civilian nuclear plan. Endit