Coronavirus fight requires joint, coordinated regional, international measures: President Rouhani

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says the fight against the coronavirus requires bolstering joint and coordinated regional and international measures, adopting serious strategies, and sustaining huge medical and care costs.

"This virus knows no boundary and claims victims without political, religious, ethnic, and racial considerations," Rouhani said in a letter sent to a number of world leaders on Friday.

He added that unlike many countries infected with coronavirus, the Islamic Republic is faced with serious obstacles and restrictions emanating from two years of extensive and illegal sanctions, a maximum pressure campaign as well as systematic acts of sabotage by the US administration.

He noted that while the US administration did not stop exerting illegal pressure on Iran even after the coronavirus outbreak started, its secretary of state “brazenly” urged countries to send humanitarian aid to Tehran only if Washington's “unwise and inhumane” demands were met.

It is not possible for any country to handle the dangerous crisis by itself let alone a country that has numerous problems in having access to international financial markets and supplying its required commodities, the Iranian president stated.

He said the fight against the coronavirus is an international duty and asked the world leaders to adopt strategies within the framework of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 to thwart illegal US sanctions against the Iranian people and counter Washington's economic terrorism.

"It is time that the international community stood up to the US’ unlawful and inhumane bullying and did not let the cruel US sanctions against Iran affect the battle against his fatal virus," Rouhani pointed out.

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It is immoral to let a bully kill innocents: Zarif

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also on Saturday pointed to Rouhani's letter to his counterparts and said, "It is IMMORAL to let a bully kill innocents."

"In letter 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.

He emphasized, "Viruses recognize no politics or geography. Nor should we."

Separately, the Iranian envoy to the United Nations on Friday called on the US to lift sanctions on the country and to “depoliticize” its approach toward efforts related to containing the coronavirus outbreak.

US has to ‘depoliticize’ virus-related efforts, lift sanctions: Iran’s UN envoy

The Iranian envoy to the United Nations calls on the US to lift sanctions on the country and to “depoliticize” its approach toward efforts related to containing the coronavirus outbreak.

“High time for US to de-politicize this humanitarian endeavor and lift sanctions. International crises necessitate genuine international efforts,” Majid Takht-Ravanchi tweeted.

Kianoush Jahanpour, the head of the public relations and information center of the Iranian Ministry of Health, said Saturday the new coronavirus has claimed 97 lives in the past 24 hours, taking the overall death toll to 611.

Jahanpour added that 1,365 fresh cases have been added to the number of the confirmed infections during the period, bringing the total to 12,729.

More than 4,300 of those with confirmed infections have recovered so far, he added.

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• ‘World must push US to lift sanctions as Iran fights coronavirus’

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