Tasnim � Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the country has achieved a positive economic growth without reliance on petrodollars and despite being under the pressure of sanctions.

�While economic growth rate in most countries in the world has declined or has become negative due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, our economic growth rate without oil has become positive in spite of the cruel sanctions,� Rouhani said at a meeting in Tehran on Monday, held to devise plans for the fulfillment of the goal of surge in production.

The president also hailed �surge in production� as a wise objective for achieving an appropriate economic growth, saying Iran is dealing with the sanctions, trying to contain the coronavirus pandemic, and combatting unemployment at the same time.

Last week, the World Bank Group predicted in a new report that Iran would be able to restore its positive economic growth next year despite the US sanctions and outbreak of the new coronavirus pandemic.

The World Bank said Iran would see its gross domestic product (GDP) shrink again this year by 5.3 percent, up from minus 8.2 percent in 2019.

In a new year message on March 20, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei stressed the need for a further surge in the national production in Iran with the participation of all organizations and sectors, saying, �Officials should act in a way that production will witness a surge, God willing, and that there will be a tangible change in the lives of the people.�