Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has announced Iran and China’s condemnation of the illegal and unilateral US sanctions against the Islamic Republic as the country is doing its best to bring under control a deadly outbreak of new coronavirus, known as COVID-19.
“I am very delighted to have spoken to my old friend Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister and State Councilor,” Zarif tweeted in Chinese on Thursday, referring to the phone conversation that took place between the top diplomats a day earlier.
“I thanked China for sending over aid and a medical team to help Iran’s confrontation with the coronavirus, and [we] condemned the illegal US sanctions that act as a big obstacle in the way of Iran’s efforts to battle the virus,” he added.
According to the Iranian foreign minister, the conversation also featured issues of common interest such as deepening of the comprehensive strategic collaboration between the countries and the subject of peace and stability in Afghanistan.
The US reinstated its sanctions against Iran in May 2018 after leaving a United Nations-endorsed nuclear agreement with the Islamic Republic and five other major powers -- the UK, France, Russia, and China plus Germany.
Tehran sued Washington at the International Court of Justice afterwards. The tribunal ruled that the US should lift its sanctions on humanitarian supplies.
Washington, meanwhile, claims that it has exempted foodstuffs and medicine from the bans. Tehran roundly rejects the claim as a “brazen” lie.