“We cannot say that the sanctions have not been effective; they have brought many advantages for the NTBFs and created a good market for them,” Sattari said in an interview with the Persian-language Iran newspaper on Wednesday, reported Fars News Agency.

He added that start-ups in Iran sold products worth nearly $26.6 billion last year.

Sattari also said that Iran stands among the first 10 world states in many fields of engineering, including mathematics, construction and biotech, and enjoys the biggest start-ups in the region.

Last month, Sattari said that Iran was moving towards an oil-free economy with the help of Iranian NTBFs.

“The presence of over 5,000 NTBFs and a bigger number of start-ups in Iran is proof of the fact that, equipped with an active technology ecosystem, the country is on the right track to reach a technology-based economy, reducing reliance on oil revenues,” he said.