The lifting of sanctions is in the hands of the enemy, but nullifying them is in our hands. Thus, we need to focus more on nullifying them than on having them lifted.

Of course, we do not mean that we should not seek to have the sanctions lifted, because if the sanctions can be lifted, we should not hesitate for even an hour. However, this has been delayed for four years now. Since 2016 when all sanctions were supposed to be lifted at once, not only have they not been lifted, they have even increased.

Imam Khamenei, [Dec 16, 2020]