Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh has lashed out at the United States for claims that Tehran’s import of medicine and other humanitarian goods are exempt from Washington's unilateral sanctions, calling such claims “a very big lie”.
Zanganeh told Bloomberg in an interview published on Monday that Iran’s hands are tied up when it comes to buying medicines and food from abroad because the American sanctions have hampered the country’s oil sale as the main source of revenue for the government.
“It's a very big lie,” said Zanganeh, adding, “Do they think that we have billions of dollars in deposit in the international bank to come into us to use that money for buying the food and medicines.”
Zanganeh said that US sanctions have specifically targeted the Iranian people and not just the government of the country.
He said the Americans should be held into account for making life difficult for the Iranians, especially the poor living in the country.
“I believe ... at some time in the future these should be asked in a criminal court,” said the minister.
The comments come as Iran is struggling to contain the surge of a coronavirus that has affected thousands of people while causing more than 200 deaths in the country since it began last month.
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.
Iran skeptical about US waiver
The governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has also expressed doubts about the practicality of a decision by the US government to allow Switzerland to use Iranian finances to ship food and medicine into the country.
Abdolnasser Hemmati said last week that it remains to be seen whether the United States would really allow the Swiss Humanitarian Trade Arrangement (SHTA) to function properly.
Hemmati said on his Instagram account that he was aware of a Thursday decision by the US department of treasury to issue a special license to finalize the SHTA.
“One should see the job in action,” he said, adding, “The US government has up to now blocked the CBI reserves illegally and through pressuring countries.”
The Swiss initiative was launched on 30 January 2020 with a first trade for delivery of cancer and organ transplant drugs to Iran worth 2.3 million euros ($2.54m).