Iran warns US of 'crushing response' if arms embargo gets extended

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has warned the United States President Donald Trump of a “crushing response” if the arms embargo imposed on the Islamic Republic by the US is extended. The United States renewed the existing sanctions on Iran on March 30 for 60 additional days while permitting Russian, European, and Chinese firms to continue their work on Islamic Republic’s civilian nuclear facilities without American penalities. While the world has been tackling the coronavirus outbreak, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo signed off on the waiver extensions but decided to continue to impose restrictions on Tehran. 

Rouhani has said on May 6 that US President Donald Trump’s decision to exit the nuclear accord of 2015 was a “stupid mistake”. According to reports, Rouhani called on Washington to lift sanctions from Tehran amid the deadly coronavirus outbreak as a condition to let the country back in the nuclear deal that was exited by Trump in May 2018. Since that move, the White House has imposed sanctions on Iran that are severely taking a toll on the latter's economy.

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Iran balancing sanctions, pandemic

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani defended his government’s action to combat the unprecedented outbreak of deadly coronavirus while also dealing with a crippled economy. According to reports, as thousands have died in Iran due to COVID-19 infection, Rouhani said that it was “not a time for political war”. While the heavy sanctions imposed by the United States have taken a toll on Iran’s economy, Rouhani called health as the country’s principle along with the security of the society.

The global death toll of coronavirus outbreak continues to spike, it has also increased the challenges that leaders across the world face of striking a balance between imposing harsh measures to stem the spread of COVID-19 but also maintain the economy. From stimulus packages to major cities under lockdown, the pandemic has forced countries to take necessary steps but Hassan Rouhani has said that it is “not the time to gather followers”. Iran has emerged as one of the world’s hardest-hit countries from the coronavirus and has reported at least 99,970 cases and 6,340 deaths.

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(With agency inputs/ Image Source: AP)