Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday called for the boost of production to offset U.S. economic pressures.

The enemies waged an "economic war" against Iran in order to collapse the country's economy, but the U.S. pressures against Iran's economy have turned out a "humiliating defeat," Khamenei said during his meeting with a group of industrialists, entrepreneurs and economic activists, according to his official website.

The resistance against the enemy's efforts to prevent the sale of oil and gas and to cut access to foreign exchange resources has been in fact a "jihad," he added.

The Iranian leader urged the acceleration of production, employment and development of Iran, as "a holy defense against the economic war with the United States."

Iran's economy needs a leap in production to overcome problems and to deal with internal and external shocks, because a jump in production leads to improved economic indicators such as sustainable employment, export boom, foreign exchange earnings and lower inflation, Khamenei noted.

He also highlighted the delinking of Iran's economic growth from the results of ongoing nuclear negotiations in Vienna and the removal of U.S. sanctions.