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HEALTH-VIRUS-IRAN LEAD
Iran hits out at US as virus death toll passes 3,000
TEHRAN, April 1, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Iran’s death toll from the coronavirus
has passed 3,000, the health ministry said on Wednesday, as President Hassan
Rouhani accused Washington of missing a “historic opportunity” to lift
sanctions.
Tensions between the arch-foes have soared since President Donald Trump
abandoned a landmark nuclear agreement in 2018 and reimposed sweeping
sanctions.
Tehran has repeatedly called on Washington to reverse its policy, which has
been opposed by US allies, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said the coronavirus death
toll in Iran now stood at 3,036 following 138 new fatalities in the past 24
hours.
He added that 2,987 new cases had been confirmed, bringing the total to
47,593, with 15,473 of those hospitalised having recovered and been
discharged.
“This was the best, historic opportunity for the Americans to reverse their
wrong path and for once, tell their nation they are not against the Iranian
people,” Rouhani said in televised comments at a cabinet meeting.
They “did not learn their lesson even during this difficult global
situation,” he said.
“This was a humanitarian issue. No one would have blamed them for
retreating.”
Medicines and medical equipment are technically exempt from the US
sanctions but purchases are frequently blocked by the unwillingness of banks
to process purchases for fear of incurring large penalties in the United
States.
Countries including Azerbaijan, Britain, China, France, Germany, Japan,
Qatar, Russia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates have all sent shipments of
medical aid to Iran.
European nations have also delivered medical goods to Iran in the first
transaction under the Instex financing mechanism set up to get round US
sanctions, Germany said on Tuesday.
It is more than a year since Britain, France and Germany announced the
creation of Instex, a delay that has prompted Iran to question European
governments’ commitment to seeing it through in defiance of the Trump
administration.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1742 hrs