US responsible for ramifications of sanctions: Iran

Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that the US was responsible for the "destructive ramifications" of its unilateral sanctions against Iran as the country was fighting against the coronavirus pandemic.

Tehran, March 19 Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that the US was responsible for the "destructive ramifications" of its unilateral sanctions against Iran as the country was fighting against the coronavirus pandemic.

"At a time when we, Iran, normally celebrate Nowruz, our New Year concurrent with the arrival of spring, we are faced with multiple and historic challenges," Xinhua news agency quoted Zarif as saying said in a video on Twitter on Wednesday.

"My country is among the hardest-hit by the coronavirus," he said, adding: "Iran, today, is the most intensely sanctioned country in history, not in line with UN decisions but contrary to them."

The Minister noted that the economic siege imposed by the US on Iran impedes all the legitimate trade and deprives the Iran of their own resources, the ones necessary to address the needs of Iran, including their health and livelihoods.

"Even amid this pandemic, the US government has vengefully refused to lift its unlawful and collective punishment, making it virtually impossible for us to even buy medicine and medical equipment," he said.

He also criticized some other countries for what he called their compliance with the US pressures against Iran.

"The bigger tragedy is that many companies and countries who officially opposed these sanctions have chosen to comply with them, perhaps in hopes of avoiding the future wrath of the US despite President Trump time and again proving that this is just wishful thinking," he said.

Earlier in the day, Zarif called for international pressure on the US to lift its sanctions against the country, official IRNA news agency reported.

Zarif urged the US' "illegal, inhuman and unilateral sanctions against Iran" should be removed as the country was struggling to stem the pandemic.

Also, Iranian ambassador to Britain, Hamid Baeidinejad, on Wednesday said: "In a letter to UK media, we requested them to urgently increase international awareness regarding inhuman nature of U.S. sanctions impeding Iran to mobilize all its resources to fight novel coronavirus."

"The US must stop terrorizing Iranian people and countries should disregard sanctions," Baeidinejad tweeted.

One of the worst-hit countries outside China, Iran has so far reported 17,361 confirmed coronavirus cases, with 1,135 deaths.

( With inputs from IANS )