Iran’s Parliament Speaker Baqer Ghalibaf has criticized the “passive” reactions of the Hassan Rouhani’s government to the US move to re-impose sanctions on Tehran.

Axar.az reports that, speaking during a plenary session of parliament on Saturday, Ghalibaf said the “passiveness” in the face of the US “hostile actions” would only escalate the pressure of sanctions on the lives of the Iranian people.

He called on the government to take “active, smart and effective” measures against the US re-imposition of all pre-2015 sanctions on Iran.

Ghalibaf further said that the duty of officials is to “strengthen the people”, alluding to their “difficult living conditions and lack of economic support.”

Ghalibaf, who was elected as the parliament speaker after conservatives swept the February elections, has been a severe critic of Rouhani’s government.

A former IRGC commander and a leading conservative political figure, he has on several occasions criticized the government for signing the 2015 nuclear deal with the US and its European allies.