US should lift sanctions if it wants to help Iran battle COVID-19: Hassan Rouhani

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on March 23 said that United States should lift sanctions if it wants to help Tehran contain coronavirus outbreak. Rouhani during a televised speech rejected humanitarian assistance offered by Washington saying that if y really want to help Iran all y need to do is to lift sanctions. Iran is worst-hit country in Middle East, where, as of March 23, more than 1,800 people have lost ir lives due to coronavirus. 

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Iran has blamed United States for hampering its efforts to tackle outbreak in country and urged American citizens to call on ir government to lift sanctions. ecomic sanctions imposed on Iran by United States are choking off its oil revenues and have stopped its banking transactions. On or hand, coronavirus outbreak has forced country to take draconian measures like lockdown of public places and businesses, which is pushing country's ecomy furr into swamp. 

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US-Iran conflict

Tensions between Tehran and Washington have been running high since 2018 when US President Donald Trump withdrew from nuclear deal, also kwn as JCPOA. However, tensions escalated to an all-time high, when Ain al-As airbase in Iraq that houses US and NATO forces were hit by multiple rockets during wee hours of January 8. incident was first reported by Iranian state TV, who described it as Tehran’s revenge operation over killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Gen. Qassem Soleimani. 

General Qassem Soleimani, he of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was killed by US air raid near Baghd's international airport on January 3, along with six ors. White House and Pentagon confirmed death of Iran's powerful military he by saying that attack was directed by US President Donald Trump.

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Coronavirus outbreak

Meanwhile, COVID-19 has claimed more than 16,500 lives across world and has infected nearly 3,81,000 people globally since it first broke out in December 2019. China is most affected country in world as experts believe that virus originated from a seafood market in Wuhan city, epicentre of disease, where animals were reportedly being tred illegally. Italy, Iran, and Spain are most affected countries outside mainland China, where, as of March 22 combined death toll stands at 10,200. 

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