President Hassan Rouhani says the administration has never tied its plans to stimulate the economy to the outcome of the nuclear talks with the major powers.
He made the remarks in a press conference at the end of his provincial visit to Zanjan Province, the Mehr news agency reported on Thursday.
In response to a question on the outcome of the negotiations between Iran and the six major powers on Tehran's nuclear program, he said, "The administration has never tied its plans to get rid of recession and create economic prosperity in the country with the results of the nuclear talks."
"With the measures taken, we have managed to exit recession and are back on track toward prosperity, while no sanctions lifted yet."
"Good steps have been taken to clinch a permanent deal, but (the progress of the talks) falls short of our expectations."
He said the country will never return to its situation before the new administration took office last year, adding, "In the nuclear talks, it is necessary for the nation and government to act on a logical basis to foil the efforts of those who oppose a final agreement."
The president reiterated that positive economic growth is expected after experiencing some nine quarters of stagflation, adding it can be seen as a great achievement.
Rouhani added, "We do not deny the need for a better interaction with the world's countries to improve the economic situation, so we are seeking new economic plans with some major countries irrespective of the nuclear issue."
He emphasized the administration has done its best to achieve good gains in the nuclear negotiations and will follow this path.
"To reach an agreement on a complicated issue with the six major powers is far from being easy, but our initial achievements indicate reaching a final agreement is feasible."
The chief executive said, "Despite the short remaining time, it is possible to reach a final agreement within the remaining 30 days (to the self-imposed November 24 deadline), since we have reached common ground on a great deal of differences."
He stated that differences on some important details have not been resolved yet, adding that discussions are underway in this regard.
Other Alternatives
Elsewhere, he said, "In the meetings with heads of some major states, I found out that no country in the world, particularly the Europeans, wants to go back in talks."
He also stressed, "We will definitely reach an agreement or find other alternatives."
"The situation in the region and world will not allow the talks be diverted by excessive demands of certain countries."
