EghtesadOnline: There were high hopes for the Iranian mining industry after the lifting of international nuclear sanctions against Iran. Exploiting massive reserves of copper, iron ore, zinc and lead in an energy-rich country that has just moved out of economic isolation sounds like a recipe for success. But why has the sector’s growth been slower than expected?

EghtesadOnline: Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani says the sanctions that had been imposed on the country over its nuclear program impacted the Iranian nation rather than government, contrary to what the enforcers of the sanctions claimed.