Tasnim – Iran’s Ambassador to the United Nations Majid Takht Ravanchi said a growing number of countries and international organizations are calling for an end to the cruel anti-Iran sanctions that are hampering the country’s efforts to contain the coronavirus.

Speaking to Iranian reporters in New York on Friday, Takht Ravanchi said the issue of need for ending the embargoes is being raised more and more in the US itself and globally.

The UN Secretary General, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and senior officials of various countries have spoken out against the bans, he noted, adding that all of them have stressed that the unilateral embargoes against Iran must end.

It is becoming more and more obvious that the policy of sanctions is a failed policy and those advocating it are being isolated, the envoy stated.

He further said that when a country is illegally, unfairly and unjustly prevented from using all its capacities to confront the infectious disease, it is not that country alone that would be harmed but the entire international community would be affected.

The COVID-19 outbreak has prompted various international leaders, figures and groups to call for Washington to suspend its anti-Iran sanctions.

Russia on Friday called for urgent removal of US sanctions against Iran, arguing that the bans have led to the flare-up of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.

“The serious situation in Iran regarding the coronavirus is largely a manufactured situation stemming from Washington’s unilateral sanctions,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said during a news conference.

Zakharova said the “unprecedented political and economic pressure” on Iran allowed the outbreak to take hold in the country.

Iran is unable to buy medicine and medical equipment amid the coronavirus global pandemic due to US economic sanctions, which the Trump administration has been continuously tightening as part of a campaign of “maximum pressure” against Tehran.

Earlier this week, eight countries sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warning about the negative impact of unilateral sanctions on the international anti-coronavirus efforts.

The UN chief said international sanctions are heightening the health risks for millions of people and weakening the global efforts to contain the spread of the pandemic.

In a tweet on Saturday, Iran’s ambassador to France Bahram Qassemi said that “those who still speak of sanctions and maximum pressure should accept responsibility for the death of thousands of people”.

Despite international calls against US sanctions, Washington imposed its latest round of bans against allegedly Iran-related individuals and companies on Thursday.