Meanwhile, the head of the country’s Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Eslami, said on Monday that Iran would keep the cameras of the UN’s nuclear watchdog off until a nuclear deal is reached. from 2015 is reinstated, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

During a press briefing, Kanaani underlined Tehran’s oft-repeated slogan that it will not make the future of the economy and the well-being of the people depend on the nuclear issue.

President Ebrahim Raisi’s extremist government and its supporters, loyal to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, argue that they can run the country despite US sanctions, and that a nuclear deal is not absolutely necessary to deal with economic challenges.

However, with annual inflation approaching 60% and food price inflation approaching 90%, critics argue that an agreement to reinstate the 2015 nuclear deal, the JCPOA, is a precondition. Without lifting the sanctions imposed by the United States and boosting oil exports and trade, the government simply has little money to deal with the economic crisis.

The United States imposed sanctions on oil exports and banks in 2018 when former President Donald Trump withdrew from the JCPOA, demanding a stronger deal. This decision considerably weakened the Iranian economy, which depends heavily on oil revenues.

The Raisi administration’s assertion of facing challenges despite sanctions is a public posturing to show the West that it is not desperate for a deal. On the home front, few believe the situation will improve as they see real food prices have doubled and tripled since the start of May.

But since the Biden administration took office, Iran has been able to increase its oil exports, mainly to China and many believe it is build hope on the extra income to weather the storm and continue to expand the nuclear program.

Kanaani, however, did not dash hopes of a deal saying talks are taking place through “communication channels”.

A local news agency asked the spokesperson about a recent statement by the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, who said he had “very limited visibility” on the Iranian nuclear program. He also said that only a country with military intentions would enrich uranium to 60% purity.

Kanaani responded defiantly. “We ask him to refrain from any politically motivated statements,” he said, adding that Grossi’s remarks were “unprofessional, unfair and unconstructive opinions.”

Iran began restricting access to IAEA surveillance in early 2021, when President Joe Biden’s new administration signaled readiness to return to the JCPOA and lift sanctions. Tehran announced more restrictions after the IAEA Board of Governors passed a resolution on June 8 to censure Iran for lack of cooperation in its investigations.

Grossi told Spanish newspaper El Pais on June 22 that his agency’s ability to monitor Iran’s nuclear activities had drastically diminished as Tehran’s nuclear program “gallets forward”.