In a statement on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi lamented the fact that some Non-Aligned Movement member states, such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Morocco and the al-Hadi regime in Yemen, have issued an official statement against Iran’s call on the United States to lift the unlawful and unilateral sanctions against Iran amid the global outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
Mousavi noted that Iran, through the Republic of Azerbaijan which currently holds the rotatory presidency of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), had called on NAM to issue a statement in opposition to the US’ unilateral sanctions as Iran is grappling with the coronavirus outbreak.
“It is a subject of much regret that some Arab and Muslim governments, which are mostly our neighbors, have taken such a measure against the Iranian people under such critical circumstances. They have failed to observe what is required of good neighborliness in international relations, and have disregarded the old traditions of neighborliness and amity among Muslims,” Mousavi added.
“Meanwhile, if the fight against this global epidemic is interrupted or fails, it will become a global catastrophe and no country will remain immune,” he warned.
Since the novel coronavirus outbreak began in China last December, it has infected 199,264 people globally and killed more than 7,994 people.
In Iran, 16,169 infections and 988 deaths have been reported as of Tuesday.
Tehran says the US' sanctions have seriously hampered the country's efforts in fighting against the pandemic.
MNA/4881807