IRNA � President Hassan Rouhani defended the economic record of his government on Wednesday, saying that the critics need to give proposals for the betterment of economic situation.

Speaking during a cabinet session, the president said that the enemies are trying to exaggerate the economic problems in a bid to make people forget the main issue that the country is under the toughest economic sanctions.

The enemies thought that Iran could not tolerate that sanctions even for a few months while it is now more than two years and a half that the Iranian government and nation are resisting to the pressure of sanctions, Rouhani said.

The US-Zionist enemies thought they could create an economic crisis which would soon turn into an economic and then a security crisis, but they were defeated in all these three phases, the president added.

If we put oil aside, which is the focal point of the sanctions, and calculate the country�s economic growth excluding oil, Iranian economic growth will be positive at 1.1% this year, the president said.

He said that the government is doing its best to rein in liquidity and bring the oil sanctions under control and is also finalizing a mechanism to sell oil.

�We promised our dear people not to surrender under the sanctions and kept our promise. We promised the people that the US will not be successful to achieve its plot to paralyze national economy he Iranian nation and we kept our promise,� Rouhani said.

He also said that until the end of his term in office next year, his government would have constructed two million residential units, a record compared to previous governments.