Zarif Intensifies Diplomatic Efforts Against US Sanctions

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the “cruel” and “unilateral” sanctions imposed by the White House are severely hampering Iran’s fight against the novel coronavirus.
“The cruel and unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States constitute a major obstacle to Iran's fight against the dangerous coronavirus,” Zarif said in a phone conversation with Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov on Sunday, emphasizing that Iran and other countries will eventually overcome the outbreak of the deadly virus, IRNA reported.
The top Iranian and Azeri diplomats also exchanged views about the COVID-19 outbreak in the region and across the globe, calling for collective containment cooperation.
Also on Sunday, Zarif spoke on phone with UAE’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan about ways of containing the pandemic.
The Iranian foreign minister said the whole international community was now impacted and that “collective determination, cooperation and interaction of all nations” were needed in the fight against the disease.
Al Nahyan expressed his country's support for the Iranian government and nation in the battle.
In a letter sent to a number of world leaders on Friday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the fight against the coronavirus requires bolstering joint and coordinated regional and international measures, adopting serious strategies and sustaining huge medical and health care costs.
The Iranian foreign minister on Saturday pointed to Rouhani's letter to his counterparts and said, "It is IMMORAL to let a bully kill innocents."
"In letters to counterparts @HassanRouhani informs how efforts to fight #COVID19 pandemic in Iran have been severely hampered by US sanctions, urging them to cease observing them," the top Iranian diplomat said in a post on his Twitter account.
"Viruses recognize no politics or geography. Nor should we."