TEHRAN, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani slammed on Wednesday the sanctions imposed on Iran by the United States as an act of "direct oppression against the poorest."

"Sanctions are a swindle on the people, direct oppression on the poorest in society, an abuse of the rights on the sick who lack medicines, and an act of cruelty on the underprivileged who are forced to buy bread at a high price," Rouhani said in a cabinet meeting in the capital Tehran, official news agency IRNA reported.

Iran's economy has suffered a harsh blow since sanctions on the country were re-imposed by U.S. former President Donald Trump's administration after Washington unilaterally abandoned the 2015 nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in May 2018.

Rouhani pointed to the resilience of the Iranian people vis-a-vis the U.S. "economic war" on Iran for more than three years as a defeat of the sanctions.

Regarding the "defeat of Iranophobia" in the world's public opinion, Rouhani noted that the termination of a UN-imposed arms embargo on Iran on Oct. 18, 2020, in line with JCPOA, was another success of Iran's diplomacy that helped Iran's military to "stand up to the enemy."

The Iranian government will stand by its "constructive interaction" approach "until the end," he said, adding that he has "no doubt" that all sanctions will be lifted.

The JCPOA Joint Commission started meetings in the Austrian capital of Vienna on April 6, aiming at getting the United States to return to the deal and Iran to resume full compliance with it. Enditem

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