US sanctions greatest threat to sustainable development of Iran, neighbors

TEHRAN, Jul. 17 (MNA) – In his address to the UN Economic and Social Council meeting Wed. the Iranian foreign minister said that US extraterritorial sanctions on Iran represent the greatest threat to the achievement of sustainable development goals of Iran and many of its neighbors.

“At UN conference on sustainable development, I maintained that extraterritorial sanctions the US imposed on Iran—in violation of Security Council Resolution 2231—represent the greatest threat to the achievement of sustainable development goals of Iran and many of our neighbors,” the top Iranian diplomat tweeted after attending and addressing the UN Economic and Social Council in New York on Wednesday.

But, Mohammad Javad Zarif added in another tweet that “despite unlawful sanctions we've made significant progress in people’s empowerment & equality. 27% of faculty members, 50% of college students & 37% of medical doctors in Iran are now women: 60% increase in appointments, with goal that by 2020, 30% of decision makers are women.“

The foreign minister also noted “in Iran: We've surpassed our intended mitigation of greenhouse gas emission; Literacy rate is now at 97%; Effective training of disadvantaged groups, rural & nomad communities, & prisoners; Educational opportunities for refugees: 400,000 Afghan students attend our schools.”