ran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says unilateral sanctions and medical terrorism by the United States have hampered global vaccination efforts and left many nations to fend for themselves during the coronavirus pandemic.

In a Twitter message on Sunday, Zarif called for “a global vaccination response” to confront the pandemic, which has killed more than 3 million people across the world.

But global vaccination efforts, he emphasized, have been restricted “whether due to sanctions & #MedicalTerrorism against Iranians, or out of malice toward Palestinians.”

The US “has a vaccine surplus,” Zarif pointed out.


Global COVID-19 pandemic should've had a global vaccination response.

But many have been left to fend for themselves, whether due to sanctions & #MedicalTerrorism against Iranians, or out of malice toward Palestinians.

US has a vaccine surplus. #VaccineHording = #MassMurder



— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) April 25, 2021

The top Iranian diplomat has repeatedly denounced the illegal and unilateral US sanctions that have blocked the country’s access to crucial medical supplies during the pandemic.

Iran is battling the highly contagious virus under illegal sanctions which the United States re-imposed against the country after withdrawing from a UN-backed nuclear deal between Tehran and major world powers three years ago.

Washington, under former president Donald Trump, then unleashed a so-called maximum pressure campaign against the Islamic Republic, characterized by sweeping economic sanctions that also hit Iran’s health sector.

The sanctions have intensified the adverse effects of the pandemic and hindered the government’s pathways to contain the deadly virus.

Iran has seen an uptick in the number of COVID-19 cases in recent weeks. The country has recorded more than 2.3 million infections and a death toll of over 69,000.

President Hassan Rouhani said earlier this month that Washington had blocked Tehran's access to ten million doses of a coronavirus vaccine by pressuring the companies that were transferring the vaccines to Iran.