Iran:

US Officials Accountable for Innocent People's Death Due to Sanctions

Iranian Ambassador to France Bahram Qassemi in a message on Saturday blamed the American officials who call for boosting sanctions and maximum pressure in the crisis-stricken world for death of thousands of innocent people.

News ID: 449809

Date: 29 March 2020 - 10:43

RNA - "Those who are speaking of sanctions and maximum pressures amid the coronavirus-crisis-stricken world and when thousands of people are being killed and in the atmosphere of fear and anxiety should be accountable for the death of thousands of innocent people," Qassemi said in his message.

In relevant remarks on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had said that "#Covid19 ravages the world, sparing no nation. Even the world's largest economy needs others to help it fight the pandemic, yet refuses to halt its #EconomicTerrorism against Iran. Does the US want a “forever pandemic"? Moral imperative to stop observing the bully's sanctions.”

In spite of the fact that Iran is now involved in fighting coronavirus and the international community has so far urged the United States to lift sanctions against Iran, the US had earlier blacklisted 20 individuals and entities for the alleged supporting the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force to breach Iraq's sovereignty and to exploit its economy.

The coronavirus COVID-19 is affecting nearly all countries and territories around the world. The virus was first reported in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year. It has so far killed more than 28,200 people and infected over 613,000 others globally.

Iran reported on Saturday that a total number of 2,517 coronavirus patients have died and 35,408 cases of infection have been identified in the country so far. Meanwhile, 11,679 people have also recovered.

The Iranian foreign ministry declared that despite Washington’s claims of cooperation to transfer drugs to Iran via the new Swiss-launched payment mechanism, the US is troubling the process amid the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

Although US claims that medicines and medical equipment are not under sanctions, they have practically blocked the transfer of Iran’s financial resources in other countries into the Swiss Humanitarian Trade Arrangement (SHTA), Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi said.

As the death toll from the virus surges, Iran intensifies its preventive safety measures. Closures of schools and universities have been extended until early April.

The government also imposed travel restrictions, specially on Iran’s North, which is among the red zones. The country has also adopted strict digital health control procedures at airports to spot possible infections.

Health Minister Saeed Namaki announced earlier this month that a new national mobilization plan would be implemented across the country to fight against the coronavirus epidemic and more effectively treat patients.

Namaki said that the plan will include all the 17,000 health centers and the 9,000 medical and clinical centers in all cities, suburban areas and villages.

He added that the plan will include home quarantine, noting that infected people will receive the necessary medicines and advice, but they are asked to stay at home.

Namaki said that people with a more serious condition will stay at the hospitals, adding that the public places will be disinfected, the entries of infected towns and cities will be controlled to diagnose and quarantine the infected cases.

According to Fars News Agency, he added that the necessary equipment and facilities have been provided, expressing the hope that the epidemic would be curbed.

According to the latest statistics of Health Ministry, the number of medical laboratories to test coronavirus infection has reached 90 across the country.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says Iran's response to the virus has so far been up to the mark. Still, it says the US sanctions are a big challenge, and Washington would be complicit in the rising death toll in Iran if it would not remove its sanctions.

The World Health Organization has considered priorities in combating coronavirus and Islamic Republic of Iran obeys and follows up priorities as defined by WHO.

The WHO is dispatching separate delegations to all countries.

*****

112/940