US wages medical terror against Iranians amidst COVID-19 pandemic: Zarif

Mar 29, 2020 16:38 UTC

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has once again hit out at the United States for its refusal to lift Iran sanctions amid the deadly coronavirus pandemic, saying that Washington is upgrading its “economic terrorism” to a new level of “medical terror” against Iranians.

"US has gone from sabotage & assassinations to waging an economic war & #EconomicTerrorism on Iranians—to #MedicalTerror amidst #covid19iran," Zarif said in a post on his official Twitter account on Sunday.

Iran's top diplomat added that the US "medical terror" against Iranians "even exceeds what would be permissible on battlefield."

Iran's foreign minister then urged the international community to stop supporting "war crimes" committed by the US administration and obeying "immoral and illegal" sanctions against the Iranian nation.

Iran is fighting the novel coronavirus while it is under the cruelest sanctions imposed by the US government.

While many countries in the world have called on Washington to lift the bans at the height of the global pandemic, the administration of Donald Trump is “vengefully” refusing to end its “unlawful and collective punishment”, partly under the pressure of Israeli lobby groups.

Iran is unable to buy medicine and medical equipment due to the US economic sanctions which the Trump administration has been continuously tightening as part of “maximum pressure” on Tehran.

President Hassan Rouhani said Iran is handling the disease under abnormal conditions because of unilateral US sanctions on the country. “While under sanctions, we have been able to resist well and run the country as good as possible.”