President Hassan Rouhani renewed a call for his conservative rivals to join hands to make the most of the opportunity arising after the lifting of crippling sanctions under the nuclear deal with major powers.
It came out of about two years of negotiations with the six major powers (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) in July 2015 and took effect six months later to curb Tehran's nuclear program in return for the sanctions relief.
"Today, thanks to the negotiations, a proper situation and atmosphere has emerged, which we should effectively exploit. We ought to avoid raising any unhelpful, marginal issue," Rouhani was quoted as saying by his official website on Wednesday.
He made the call in an address to a joint meeting of the Cabinet and governors general.
Rouhani, who championed the accord, hoped to revive the ailing domestic economy by capitalizing on Iran's reintegration into the international community, which would help attract overseas investment and modern technology.
However, his powerful conservative rivals have opposed his plans to open up to the West, asserting that it could involve an exposure to the West's harmful influence.
"The people are entitled to free trade, access to banking [services] and easy air travel [due to the nuclear deal], but some fail to take this into account and do not appreciate measures taken to prevent a waste of the people's time," he said.
"The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was aimed at defending the people's rights and … paving the way for their activities," he said, using the formal title of the pact.
Defending his track record since assuming office in 2013, Rouhani said despite a 40% drop in oil revenues in the last Iranian year (ended March 19, 2016), we witnessed stability, calm, falling inflation and economic growth."
