TEHRAN, Mar. 07 (MNA) – Iranian Parliament Speaker’s Special Aide for International Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian lamented that despite US officials' claims, sanctions on imports of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment to Iran have not been suspended.

"The US Treasury does not allow the imports of Iran's purchased medicine and medical equipment for treating coronavirus patients to the country," he wrote in a tweet on Saturday.

"US officials are clearly lying and there has been no suspension of sanctions," he added.

"They have targeted Iran and the Iranian people," Amir-Abdollahian noted.

On February 27, the United States announced that it has granted a license to allow for certain humanitarian trade transactions, including food, medicine and other critical supplies, with Iran's sanctioned central bank, a move it said was in step with the formalization of a Swiss humanitarian aid channel.

On March 2, the Governor of the Central Bank of Iran lamented that despite its establishment, Swiss Humanitarian Trade Agreementexternal link (SHTA)- trade agreement supposed to allow companies to send food, medicine and other critical supplies to Iran- has not become operational yet.

On March 5, China called for the immediate lifting of the sanctions against Iran given the severe outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, saying the unilateral move hinders Iran and the international community in the fight against the virus and will only make the situation worse.

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