Zarif Urges UK to Defy US Sanctions on Iran
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called on Britain not to follow the cruel and illegal sanctions the US has imposed on the people of Iran.
Zarif and Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the UK Dominic Raab held a telephone conversation on Monday evening.
The two top diplomats discussed a range of issues, including the latest developments surrounding the outbreak of the coronavirus in Iran and the world, the unilateral sanctions imposed by the US, the JCPOA, consular affairs between Tehran and London, and regional developments.
Zarif commended the European Union and the three EU members of the JCPOA –the UK, France and Germany- for sending aid to Iran for the fight against coronavirus, slammed the US’ illegal and unilateral sanctions as an obstacle to the battle with the global pandemic, and called on the UK to defy the US’ cruel sanctions against the Iranian nation under such circumstance, both on the basis of its (Britain’s) JCPOA commitments and the human considerations.
Earlier in the day, Zarif also raised the issue of US sanctions in a separate phone conversation with the foreign minister of Croatia, the rotating president of the European Union.
In his phone talk with his Croatian counterpart Gordan Grlić-Radman, Zarif emphasized that the EU must not abide by the US unilateral and unlawful sanctions.
He said the EU should do this not only as a JCPOA obligation, but also to prevent the deaths of innocent Iranians due to the cruel US sanctions.
The Croatian foreign minister, in turn, expressed solidarity with the Iranian government and nation in their fight against the epidemic, and offered his condolences to the families of the victims.
Last week, Zarif sent a letter to Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres, denouncing the US’ sanctions as a major obstacle to the Islamic Republic’s fight against the coronavirus and urging that such unilateral and illegal sanctions should end.
Zarif emphasized in the letter that despite Iran’s scientific capabilities and the commitment that the country’s health system has shown to the fight against the coronavirus outbreak, the US’ sanctions on legal trade and the preconditions that the United States’ authorities have set recently in order to prevent the sale of medicine, medical equipment and humanitarian supplies have posed serious obstacles to the efforts to battle against the COVID-19 outbreak in Iran.