TEHRAN, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Many Iranians believe that they will survive U.S. sanctions amidst the pressure the United States has kept piling up on Iran through a series of sanctions following the exit from the Iran nuclear deal in May last year.
Iranians have to get prepared for the hard times, politically and economically, Rafati, manager of a publication company in Tehran's Enghelab street, told Xinhua on Wednesday.
"Hard times are coming, actually they are returning," Rafati said.
Since May last year when U.S. President Donald Trump announced withdrawal from Iran's international nuclear deal, his administration has reinstated economic and financial sanctions against Tehran and adopted unprecedented shipping and energy embargos as well as pressures against Iran's security sector.
On Wednesday, Iran announced withdrawal from some of its commitments pertaining to the 2015 nuclear deal and threatened to do further if its economic interests under the pact cannot be honored.
Rafati said Tehran's Wednesday reaction to the U.S. withdrawal from the deal is a "logical and natural way."
Despite Iran's defiance of U.S. sanctions, the impact of the pressures on the economy of the country and the livelihood of the people is clear.
"Hopes were growing among our people about the recovery of the economy after the JCPOA (Iranian nuclear deal)," Rafati said, adding that "however, U.S. historical hostility against Iran has put the deal in danger."
The U.S. withdrawal from the deal has resulted in the depreciation of Iran's currency, soaring inflation and decrease in Iran's income from its trade with the outer world, he said.
"Customers prefer to do shopping for brief and cheap food for lunch, simply soup, omelette, and pierogi in the neighborhood eateries," Mahmood, owner of an Iranian restaurant, which sells popular Kebabs with Rice in downtown Enghelab square, said.
"The prices in our menu have almost doubled compared with last year, but the income of the ordinary people might have remained unchanged," Mahmood said.
U.S. anti-Iran economic sanctions have often failed to achieve its ends, Leila, 25, a student of law in the University of Tehran, told Xinhua on Wednesday.
She supported Iran's measure in response to U.S. drop of Iran's nuclear deal, saying that "Iran should have done it much earlier."
"More likely, it could have had preventive consequences vis-a-vis U.S. anti-Iran sanction pressures," she said.
