US State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said that Washington’s opposition to granting a $5 billion loan to the Islamic Republic of Iran to combat COVID-19 has been notified to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“The US has made clear its position on the Islamic Republic of Iran to the IMF and the world and it is against allocating any loan to Iran,” she said.
In mid-March, CBI Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati said he had written to the IMF’s head, Kristalina Georgieva, to stress Iran’s “right to benefit from the fund’s $50-billion Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI).”
In the letter, the official highlighted the “widespread prevalence” of the COVID-19 inside Iran and the need for the country to take measures to prevent further spread, treat the patients and counteract the economic aftermath of the disease.
Iran requested the $5 billion IMF loan last month to help it fight the coronavirus, which has infected nearly 63,000 Iranians and killed more than 3,800 people to date.
The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Rear Adm. Ali Shamkhani, accused the United States over the weekend of using its clout within the IMF to stonewall the loan request.
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