President of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) has urged International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the international business community to help Iran in its fight against the new coronavirus outbreak.
In a letter to Paul Polman, chairman of the ICC, Gholam Hossein Shafei asked for arrangements through international business community and members of the organization to contribute to Iran’s efforts to contain the pandemic adding that "the inhumane US unilateral sanction against the Iranian people" has made it difficult for the government to provide necessary medical equipments.
The epidemic has killed 354 people in Iran and infected 9,000 others, out of whom 2,959 have recovered.
US authorities have claimed that their sanctions on Iran, enacted since November 2018 and months after Washington pulled out of a nuclear agreement with Iran, have not affected the trade of humanitarian goods.
However, international organizations and governments have asked the US to lift its bans and allow Iran to access the medicine and medical gear it needs to fight the new coronavirus.
Tehran further sued Washington at the International Court of Justice afterwards. The tribunal ruled that the US should lift its sanctions on humanitarian supplies.
In his letter Shafei asked for urgent need of protective and medical supplies including medical safety facial masks, gloves, face shields, isolation gowns, hand and surface disinfectants and Tamiflu capsules.
President of Iran Chamber of Commerce Gholam Hossein Shafei (right) in a letter to Paul Polman, chairman of the ICC, asked for arrangements to contribute to Iran’s efforts to contain the coronavirus while the country is under severe US sanctions.
Iran has received 7.5 tonnes of medical equipment including 1,000 lab kits for diagnose of the virus cases from the World Health Organization (WHO) and another batch of 4.5 tonnes of supplies including high-filtered masks, gowns and surgical goggles for health-care personnel from The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
The country, however, needs more as it is unable to buy equipment overseas due to US sanctions.
Fighting against this disease, not only helps the Iranian nation, but also by controlling and eradicating this virus in my country, we will prevent its spread in the region and the world, Shafei wrote.
We believe that ICC, as an internationally recognized and effective international institution, can play a significant role in such a situation, the letter from ICCIMA president to ICC chairman reads.