In a Tuesday tweet, Zarif slammed Pompeo’s claims that the US is ready to contribute to relief operations to Iran’s nation-wide floods, saying the US should be accountable for its economic terrorism.
The official noted that while the US says it is ready to help direct money to flood-stricken people through Iranian Red Crescent, in fact, the organization cannot receive any funds due to the illegal US sanctions.”
“The US should own up to its economic terrorism,” Zarif added.
Earlier on Tuesday, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Ghasemi had said that the US has frozen the accounts of the Iranian Red Crescent Society as part of its cruel sanctions against the Iranian people, thus preventing other countries from sending humanitarian aid to people in Iran’s flood-stricken areas.
“Given that the accounts of the Iranian Red Crescent have been blocked due to US sanctions, no foreign citizen or Iranian national living abroad is able to send any relief aid to flood-hit people,” he added.
Unprecedented heavy rains have caused floods in various parts of Iran over the past two weeks. Scores of people were killed and injured and a large number were displaced across Iran.
According to Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, devastating floods have hit 400 villages and cities in 15 provinces across the country.
So far, 78 roads linking cities and 2,199 roads connecting villages have been blocked by the floods, the minister said, adding that some 84 bridges are destructed in the flood-stricken areas.
MR