As Iran continues to battle the spread of the novel coronavirus, government officials are warning about the toll sanctions are taking and asking other countries to either ignore US sanctions or work with Iran to help combat the virus. 

Leading the way on the campaign to demonstrate the effects of US sanctions on Iran has been Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. In his latest Telegram post March 30, Zarif wrote, “These days the world is combatting a common challenge. In order for the world to return to life as previously, we must believe that the entire planet is a battlefield and anywhere we fail the whole world fails.”

Zarif added, “The world is indebted to everyone’s efforts, whether in Wuhan, Tehran, Milan, Madrid or New York, and every bitter news and every horrific image of the death of people demands the mourning of the whole world.”

On the impact of sanctions, Zarif said, “Iran is the only country in the world that does not have access to all of its resources in order to protect its citizens [and] cannot buy equipment and medical supplies easily. The combination of sanctions and the coronavirus makes it a more dangerous and terrible complication. Sanctions make the coronavirus more resilient and the decisions to manage the crisis more difficult.”