Majid Takht-Ravanchi : US Sanctions amid Pandemic Reach Brink of Crime against Humanity.

Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations says Washington has crossed the red lines of economic and medical terrorism by continuing to impose sanctions on various countries amid the coronavirus pandemic, and reached the brink of “crime against humanity.”

Majid Takht-Ravanchi made the remarks during a meeting on the “impact of unilateral coercive measures on global confrontation with the coronavirus” in New York on Tuesday.

 “While the world is grappling with the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic and countries are working to boost cooperation and solidarity to help each other in this critical situation, the United States has expanded and intensified its unilateral and illegal action against countries that are largely plagued by the virus,” Takht-Ravanchi said.

The Iranian ambassador added that, “It is the right of all countries to have access to medicines, equipment and supplies needed to prevent spread  of the coronavirus but the unilateral action by the United States has created a serious obstacle to its realization.”

Lashing out at the US’s restrictive measures, Takht-Ravanchi said “Washington has made groundless claims that the sanctions do not include food, medicine and medical equipment but [the fact of the matter is that] depriving a country of access to international trade and the global banking system will curb its entire abilities to access medicine, food and medical equipment through financial and trade mechanisms.”

The Tuesday meeting was initiated by the permanent missions of Iran, Russia, China, Venezuela, Cuba, Syria, Belarus, Nicaragua and Zimbabwe to the United Nations.

Haifaa Mafalani