A nuclear negotiator criticized the residual US restrictions that have undermined international confidence in the Iranian market, thereby deterring overseas investment.
"The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action has had many benefits but our expectations have not been fully met. We are mainly concerned about banking restrictions," Abbas Araqchi said, using the official title of the 2015 nuclear deal.
"The United States has not contributed to efforts to help create confidence" in Iran's economy among international firms, Araqchi told a press conference in Tehran on Sunday, three days after the one-year anniversary of the action plan, Fars News Agency reported.
"It has even played a destructive role in this relation," he said.
Europe and the United States lifted sanctions in January when the accord came into effect in return for scaling back Tehran's nuclear program.
But other US sanctions remain, including a ban on transactions with Iran in dollars processed through the US financial system.
This has meant that few foreign banks and companies have been willing to get involved in trade with Iran, much to Tehran's frustration.
On the attempts of US Congress to pass anti-deal measures, Araqchi, who heads the Foreign Ministry's Office for JCPOA's Implementation, said, "Congress has been trying to undermine the implementation [of the deal] in cooperation with others in the United States and the region. It is the administration of the US that is bound to prevent any move to breach the action plan. We are not dealing with the Congress."
