Coronavirus Fuels Calls for Sanctions Relief on Iran, Venezuela

Rouhani: If US wants to help, lift economic sanctions

Coronavirus is pounding a lot of nations around the world, and with the Trump Administration talking about lending a hand to the most overwhelmed countries, one of the most obvious ways to help would be to not make matters worse, meaning easing US economic sanctions.

This is getting a lot of support in cases like Iran and Venezuela, where experts say crippling the other nation’s health care system is immoral in the best of times, but an absolute disaster when the virus comes whipping through, as exemplified by Iran being hit so hard.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani was quick to repeat calls for sanction relief after the US contacted Iran offering help. Rouhani says the only help Iran needs from the US would be the lifting of the sanctions.

US officials, however, have dismissed the idea of sanctions relief on Iran, and even declared publicly last week that coronavirus wouldn’t “save” Iran from American sanctions. To the extent sanctions are killing Iranians, it is more or less by design.



Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.