A shopkeeper waits for customers as a woman wearing a face mask to help protect against the new coronavirus, walks at the Tehran's Grand Bazaar, Iran. AP
A shopkeeper waits for customers as a woman wearing a face mask to help protect against the new coronavirus, walks at the Tehran's Grand Bazaar, Iran. AP
A shopkeeper waits for customers as a woman wearing a face mask to help protect against the new coronavirus, walks at the Tehran's Grand Bazaar, Iran. AP
A shopkeeper waits for customers as a woman wearing a face mask to help protect against the new coronavirus, walks at the Tehran's Grand Bazaar, Iran. AP

US accuses Iran of 'scam' strategy in seeking coronavirus sanctions relief

Number of Iranian patients soars above 60,000, of which more than 3,700 have died

Joyce Karam
Joyce Karam

April 07, 2020

  • English
  • Arabic

The Trump administration on Monday accused Iran of a scam in which it is trying to obtain sanctions relief for the coronavirus pandemic, which would enable Tehran to increase its spending on “terror operations".

Washington is ignoring calls from Iran to lift sanctions as the coronavirus cases there soar above 60,000, of which more than 3,700 have died.

“Iran’s slick foreign influence campaign to obtain sanctions relief is not intended for the relief or health of the Iranian people, but to raise funds for its terror operations,” State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said.

Ms Ortagus accused Tehran of spending more than $16 billion (Dh58.77bn) to fund its terror proxies abroad while Iranian healthcare services remained woefully underfunded.”

She said that sanctions were not stopping aid getting to Iran.

The US had offered Iran “unconditional humanitarian aid” without sanctions relief, but the leadership in Tehran rejected the offer again on Monday.

A nurse adjusts tiny face shield for a newborn baby to protect from new coronavirus at the newborn nursery of the hospital in Samutprakarn province, central Thailand. AP
A nurse adjusts tiny face shield for a newborn baby to protect from new coronavirus at the newborn nursery of the hospital in Samutprakarn province, central Thailand. AP
Members of the medical staff hold palm tree branches at the emergency unit of the Molinette Hospital on Palm Sunday, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Turin, Italy. REUTERS
Members of the medical staff hold palm tree branches at the emergency unit of the Molinette Hospital on Palm Sunday, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Turin, Italy. REUTERS
A motorist rides through a disinfection tunnel during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus in Chennai. AFP
A motorist rides through a disinfection tunnel during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus in Chennai. AFP
Employees of the Lantz funeral company, wearing face masks as protective measures, pull the coffin of a victim of the COVID-19 at an hospital in Mulhouse, eastern France. AFP
Employees of the Lantz funeral company, wearing face masks as protective measures, pull the coffin of a victim of the COVID-19 at an hospital in Mulhouse, eastern France. AFP
Christian devotees stand in circles marked on the ground to maintain social distancing as they hold palm branches to celebrate a Palm Sunday event at the Christian neighborhood during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Islamabad. AFP
Christian devotees stand in circles marked on the ground to maintain social distancing as they hold palm branches to celebrate a Palm Sunday event at the Christian neighborhood during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Islamabad. AFP
Afghan four-year old Ahmad Yosuf plays with a Spiderman toy in the yard of his house as kindergartens continue to be closed due to the fear of coronavirus outbreak in Kabul, Afghanistan. EPA
Afghan four-year old Ahmad Yosuf plays with a Spiderman toy in the yard of his house as kindergartens continue to be closed due to the fear of coronavirus outbreak in Kabul, Afghanistan. EPA
A woman wearing a protective mask holds a hydrangea at a greenhouse of the Saracino garden centre in Aprilia, Italy. EPA
A woman wearing a protective mask holds a hydrangea at a greenhouse of the Saracino garden centre in Aprilia, Italy. EPA
A man walks his dog in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris on the twentieth day of a lockdown in France aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19. AFP
A man walks his dog in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris on the twentieth day of a lockdown in France aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19. AFP
A man plays with a football on Eastgate Street in a near-deserted Chester city centre in north-West England as the warm weather tests the nationwide lockdown to combat the novel coronavirus pandemic. AFP
A man plays with a football on Eastgate Street in a near-deserted Chester city centre in north-West England as the warm weather tests the nationwide lockdown to combat the novel coronavirus pandemic. AFP
Municipal workers disinfect the streets of La Paz as a preventive measure to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. AFP
Municipal workers disinfect the streets of La Paz as a preventive measure to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. AFP
Residents take part in a socializing hour in the courtyard of their apartment complex while keeping a social distance during the global outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Pasadena, California, U.S. REUTERS
Residents take part in a socializing hour in the courtyard of their apartment complex while keeping a social distance during the global outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Pasadena, California, U.S. REUTERS
An aerial view shows less than usual passersby seen at a pedestrian crossing at Ginza shopping and amusement district after Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike urged Tokyo residents to stay indoors in a bid to keep the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) from spreading, in Tokyo, Japan. REUTERS
An aerial view shows less than usual passersby seen at a pedestrian crossing at Ginza shopping and amusement district after Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike urged Tokyo residents to stay indoors in a bid to keep the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) from spreading, in Tokyo, Japan. REUTERS
The Ruby Princess, with only crew onboard, docks at Port Kembla, Wollongong, Australia. A criminal investigation will be launched into how cruise line operator Carnival Australia was allowed to disembark Ruby Princess passengers in Sydney, resulting in several deaths and COVID-19 outbreaks throughout the country. EPA
The Ruby Princess, with only crew onboard, docks at Port Kembla, Wollongong, Australia. A criminal investigation will be launched into how cruise line operator Carnival Australia was allowed to disembark Ruby Princess passengers in Sydney, resulting in several deaths and COVID-19 outbreaks throughout the country. EPA
Employees of LG Twins broadcast their intra-team game played for fans at a empty Jamshil baseball stadium, as South Koreans take measures to protect themselves against the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Seoul, South Korea. Getty Images
Employees of LG Twins broadcast their intra-team game played for fans at a empty Jamshil baseball stadium, as South Koreans take measures to protect themselves against the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Seoul, South Korea. Getty Images

The sanctions do not target medical equipment but they affect Iran’s ability to finance such imports.

The US is accusing Iran of spending funds that are meant to be allocated towards health on militias.

“In 2018, Iran withdrew an estimated $2.5bn from its National Development Fund for increased defence spending," the State Department said.

"In 2019, Iran withdrew $1.5bn from the fund for other military expenses."

It accused supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei of intervening in the parliamentary budget process "and on March 19 increased funding for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps by 33 per cent over [President Hassan] Rouhani’s original budget request".

But calls mounted on Monday in Europe and among former US policymakers to offer Iran sanctions relief.

"Just as the Covid-19 pandemic has upended every aspect of the global economy and of human lives and health, it has drastically changed the impact of a US policy designed for a different purpose and conditions," 24 current and former diplomats said in a statement, The Washington Post reported.

Former vice president Joe Biden, the Democratic front-runner challenging US President Donald Trump in this year's elections, supported these calls.

“The United States should take steps to offer what relief we can to those nations hardest hit by this virus, including Iran, even as we prioritise the health of the American people,” Mr Biden said last week.

Meanwhile in Iran, the government has resisted a full lockdown to stop the spreading and reopened ministries on Monday:

Iran has the highest number of cases of coronavirus in the Middle East and North Africa region.

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Background

Abdul Jabar Qahraman was meeting supporters in his campaign office in the southern Afghan province of Helmand when a bomb hidden under a sofa exploded on Wednesday.

The blast in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah killed the Afghan election candidate and at least another three people, Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak told reporters. Another three were wounded, while three suspects were detained, he said.

The Taliban – which controls much of Helmand and has vowed to disrupt the October 20 parliamentary elections – claimed responsibility for the attack.

Mr Qahraman was at least the 10th candidate killed so far during the campaign season, and the second from Lashkar Gah this month. Another candidate, Saleh Mohammad Asikzai, was among eight people killed in a suicide attack last week. Most of the slain candidates were murdered in targeted assassinations, including Avtar Singh Khalsa, the first Afghan Sikh to run for the lower house of the parliament.

The same week the Taliban warned candidates to withdraw from the elections. On Wednesday the group issued fresh warnings, calling on educational workers to stop schools from being used as polling centres.

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Our legal advisor

Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.

Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation. 

Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.

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