"Any human with a conscience would agree that sanctions on Iran at a time of the COVID-19 pandemic is unconscionable," he told Newsweek on Thursday.
"Anybody should be grateful to anyone, group, company or country that will have the courage to stand up to US bullying and furthermore, defy its illegal, inhuman sanctions regime that is waging economic terrorism on the Iranian people," he added
The United States is resisting easing sanctions on Iran during the global coronavirus pandemic, despite calls from the international community, including former US government officials, to do so for humanitarian reasons.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo defended President Donald Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran at a press briefing Tuesday.
While the Islamic Republic is battling the fast-spreading outbreak, the Trump administration refuses to ease up its “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, which were reinstated in 2018 after President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the landmark nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers.
Iran says US "medical terrorism" against Iranians through imposing toughest-ever sanctions on the country is leading to a "humanitarian catastrophe" as it makes it “impossible” for ordinary people to have access to essential drugs amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
On March 31, more than 30 members of the US Congress — including Senators Bernie Sanders and Edward J. Markey as well as Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar, wrote a letter to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, urging the suspension of US sanction.
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