Bernie Sanders, other US lawmakers write to Trump to lift Iran sanctions amid COVID-19

US Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have called on President Donald Trump to ease sanctions imposed on Iran as country struggles to fight coronavirus outbreak which has killed over 2,800 people. According to reports, over three dozen US politicians have signed letter asking Trump to provide humanitarian aid to Tehran amid COVID-19 crisis and it was sent to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin.

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politicians who have signed public letter, include names like Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Representative Jared Huffman, Representative Barbara Lee. demand came less than a week after United States imposed fresh sanctions on Iran, targeting individuals and companies allegedly linked to Iranian military. letter also reminded Trump about eased sanctions and delivered aid to Iran by Bush administration following a deadly earthquake near Bam in 2003.

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letter states that sanctions prevent international financial transactions and shipping, any trade, including that of medicines and medical equipment with Iran. As per reports, many companies that provide medical equipment have stopped shipping to Iran because ir banks refuse to handle transactions. Iranian leadership had earlier refused to take any humanitarian assistance offered by United States following coronavirus escalation in Islamic republic. Tehran accused Washington of hampering ir fight against coronavirus by t revoking harsh sanctions imposed following withdrawal of United States from Obama-era nuclear deal. 

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Coronavirus outbreak

COVID-19 has claimed more than 42,300 lives across world and has infected more than 8,59,400 people globally since it first broke out in December 2019. China was most affected country until last week before Italy and Spain surpassed it to record most number of deaths anywhere in world due to COVID-19. United States and France are on verge of overtaking China in terms of number of deaths recorded in se countries. virus is believed to have originated from a seafood market in China's Wuhan city, epicentre of disease, where animals were reportedly being traded illegally.

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(Im Credit: AP)