Zarif: Coronavirus Outbreak in Iran Exposed Reality of Cruel Sanctions to the World

By Staff, Agencies

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the Iranians celebrate the Persian New Year [Nowruz] concurrent with the arrival of Spring while the country is faced with multiple and historic challenges and stressed the coronavirus outbreak in Iran exposed the reality of the US sanctions to the world.

Zarif made the remarks through a video message released on Wednesday.

“My country is among the hardest hit by the coronavirus even like other nations we are now learning how to better confront it sadly a huge part of the danger Iranians face is due to restrictions unjustly imposed on them the United States government.”

Zarif went on to stress that Iran today is the most intensely sanctioned country in history not in line with United Nations decisions but contrary to them the economic siege imposed on us impedes all legitimate trade and deprives us from our own resources the ones necessary to address the needs of our people including their health and livelihoods.

Even amid this pandemic the US government has fully refused to lift its unlawful and collective punishment making it virtually impossible for us to even buy medicine and medical equipment, Zarif added.

"We are all in this together. To better confront the virus we need to better work together."

Zarif said also "I can assure you that we Iranians relying on millennia of civilizations and unified national resilience will overcome these challenges and emerge as a stronger and more compassionate community."

Also, via a twitter message Zarif congratulated over Nowruz, and called for forging a new path, if we want to emerge from the coronavirus.

"If we are to make the world that will emerge from #COVID19 a better one, we must seize the opportunity to forge new path," Zarif tweeted on Wednesday.

“My thoughts on the occasion of #Nowruz, the Persian New Year.”

Nowruz marks the first day of spring and Persian New Year that is celebrated across the world by various countries, particularly in Afghanistan, Albania, Azerbaijan, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey and Turkmenistan.