Iran accuses US of `economic terrorism,' urges sanctions end

Iran's foreign minister demanded on Thursday that United States immediately halt what he called a campaign of ecomic terrorism and lift sanctions, saying y have me it increasingly difficult for country to export oil and virtually impossible to import medicine and medical equipment, including to identify and treat coronavirus patients.

Mohamm Jav Zarif said in a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that U.S. sanctions have also left thousands of Iranians stranded abro and severely disrupted air links with Europe. And he said y have led to what he called Google's immoral censoring of a new government app designed to help Iranians identify potential symptoms of COVID-19 virus.

He said it is imperative" that government of United States immediately halt its campaign of ecomic terrorism against Iranian people and lift all sanctions it has illegally imposed on my country," in violation of Security Council resolution that endorsed 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six major powers which U.S. pulled out of in 2018.

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To this end," Zarif said, It is imperative that United Nations and its member states join Iranian people in demanding that government of United States abandon its malign and fruitless approach against Iran. new coronavirus, COVID-19, has swept across Iran, with Health Ministry anuncing Thursday that in past 24 hours 75 people h died and more than 1,000 new cases h been confirmed, bringing death toll to 429 and confirmed cases to 10,075.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is deeply concerned" about coronavirus outbreak in Iran and U.N. system is providing support. But U.N. chief is also very aware of short of medicine and medical equipment that makes it much more difficult to contain outbreak in Iran, and he appeals to all member states to facilitate and support Iran's efforts in this critical moment," Dujarric said.

Zarif said it is unconscionable that U.S. government has t only increased its maximum pressure campaign just as virus has spre and is killing our most vulnerable citizens, but that it ditionally has audacity to lecture us on containing coronavirus as it itself is evidently incapable of containing its onslaught.

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He sharply criticised U.S. bullying ors to refrain from engaging in legitimate tre with Iran and said even if foreign suppliers are found and required items can be purchased with our assets abro, myri U.S. shipping, insurance, financial and banking sanctions make such tre nviable which is a violation of 2015 Security Council resolution and international humanitarian law, amounting to a crime against humanity.

Even before COVID-19 outbreak, Zarif said inaction by some countries led to a reduction in value and quantity of imports from Europe of all pharmaceutical goods, from medical disinfectants to breathing appliances. And he said imports are w at a lower level than before 2016 implementation of Iran nuclear deal. While or nations debate how to control spre of virus  and while ir ecomies suffer and fear takes hold among ir populations  our people t only suffer from its effects without full benefits of equate medical equipment and supplies, but also many or ways in which U.S. ecomic terrorism h devastated many households prior to inception of COVID-19, and only me worse since its arrival in Iran, Zarif said.