Faced with the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani recently wrote a letter to Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, asking him to play a role in lifting US sanctions. Since then, Islamabad has speeded up diplomatic efforts to provide relief to Tehran in combating the disease.

On March 19 in Iran, 149 people died — one person every 10 minutes — because of COVID-19, the government said. The rate was still about the same March 26, when 156 deaths were reported.

“I would stress and insist to the international community to lift the sanctions on Iran,” Khan said recently at a news conference. The global community is fighting an unprecedented pandemic and, in his view, world leaders should show compassion toward each other.

Iran’s coronavirus outbreak has had a major impact on Pakistan, and Islamabad is struggling to control the epidemic with lockdowns all over the country as more than 1,100 cases have been confirmed there. Proactive measures taken by Iran would also help Pakistan by allowing for faster containment of the coronavirus, which knows no borders.