Iran’s incoming President Ebrahim Raisi said Tuesday that he intends to take steps to end the “tyrannical” sanctions the United States has imposed on Iran during the Trump administration.

“We will seek to end the tyrannical sanctions imposed by America,” said Raisi, who was elected after promising to improve the living conditions of the Iranian people. The economy has been crippled since 2018 due to sanctions.

Raisi, a hardline cleric who will be sworn in Thursday, added that Iran would not "tie the economy to the will of foreigners." He is expected to take an uncompromising approach to any upcoming negotiations.

Raisi, 60, received close to 62% of the nearly 29 million votes in the June presidential election.

Iran and six other world powers have been trying to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement. The 2015 Iran nuclear agreement was an agreement with the U.S. that involved Iran dismantling much of its nuclear program and opening its facilities to allow for international inspection by the IAEA in exchange for sanction relief.

Former President Donald Trump withdrew from the Iran Nuclear Deal and imposed sanctions under a “maximum pressure” policy. The sanctions caused Iran to fall into a deep recession with GDP falling 4.8% in 2018 and another 9.5% in 2019. In 2019, the country’s unemployment rate was 16.8%.

Iran’s oil exports also plummeted from 3.8 million barrels per day in January of 2018 to 1 million barrels per day in April 2019. This has reduced their government’s revenue by billions of dollars. The plummeting oil sales led to a significant fall in Iran’s foreign currency exchange, reducing it to $86 billion, 20% below their level in 2013.

The country’s currency hit a record low in 2018 as it lost 50% of its value against the U.S. dollar on the unofficial market since Trump axed the Iran deal. Inflations skyrocketed from 9% in 2017 to 35.7% in 2019, cost of living increased dramatically as the Consumer Price Index 12-month rate of inflation for households stood at 42% in October 2019.

The sixth round of talks between Tehran and Washington in Vienna concluded on June 2. Both sides have not announced the next round of talks.

Outgoing President Hassan Rouhani, who helped reached the 2015 agreement, has criticized his government for “not allowing” him to reinstate the pact during his final months in office.