Call for Int’l Action to Lift Sanctions Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani called for international intervention for the removal of the United States’ sanctions on Iran while the country is battling a growing coronavirus epidemic. 
He made the statement in a letter addressed to President of Inter-Parliamentary Union Gabriela Cuevas Barron, the copies of which were sent to his Asian and Muslim state counterparts as well as other international parliamentary assemblies, ISNA reported.  
Larijani highlighted the wide and rapid spread of the virus across the world, saying global cooperation is needed more than ever to control the situation.
“It is regrettable that in this sensitive situation, Iran ... is systematically under unilateral and inhumane direct and indirect sanctions of the United States,” he said.
The US reimposed sweeping sanctions on Iran after it withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal in May 2018. 
According to Larijani, the US sanctions policy is against the United Nations Charter and the World Health Organization’s Statute and hampers not only Iran’s strong efforts but also global attempts to contain the virus. 
“This is expected, now that the [Inter-Parliamentary] Union ... demands the immediate lifting of all US direct and indirect sanctions, including on medical equipment, against the Iranian nation,” he said.