Americans have taken the health of 83 million Iranians hostage by imposing cruel sanctions and preventing the transfer of medicine and essentials to Iran in the difficult conditions of the COVID-19 outbreak, Rouhani said in a Tuesday phone conversation with his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinistö.
"The European Union, especially Finland, should carry out its responsibility by condemning the illegal actions of the United States,” added Rouhani according to his official website.
Stating that the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was a good achievement in the field of multilateralism, President said, "Unfortunately, this good agreement faced problems with the US’ sabotage and the unilateral withdrawal.”
"The United States’ move to withdraw from the JCPOA was against the Security Council resolution and contrary to international law, political custom and all moral obligations,” he said.
Emphasizing that Iran's cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is continuing well and that Iran's nuclear activities are under the supervision of IAEA inspectors, Rouhani said, "As soon as the EU starts complying with its 11-paragraph commitments under the JCPOA, we will return to our commitments as well.”
Unfortunately, the Americans did not show any goodwill at any stage, and even during the outbreak of coronavirus, they continued to impose illegal sanctions and increase economic pressure on the Iranian people in defiance of human rights principles, he said, "The Americans must have realized that it would not be in their best interest to take this path and that disrupting the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) would be to everyone's detriment.”
Referring to the launch of the INSTEX financial mechanism by Europe, as well as the Swiss financial channel with Iran, the President added, "Unfortunately, these financial channels have not been effective yet and the European Union should take more active steps to activate these financial mechanisms."
He called the bilateral relations between Iran and Finland friendly and added, "The two countries have great potential for developing economic and trade relations, investing in oil and energy, agriculture and technology, which they need to make the most of.”
Referring to Iran's achievements in combatting COVID-19, the President also stressed the need to transfer experiences and share information and knowledge in this field with Finland, and said, "Success in combatting this pandemic will be achieved through collective cooperation, and if all countries do not stand together, it will be very difficult to get rid of this dangerous disease.”
Rouhani stressed that in such a situation, the fight against the virus should be treated in the same way as in other countries, especially in the field of free access to medicine and medical equipment, adding, "Unfortunately, the US government has boycotted the World Health Organisation and taken narrow-minded approach towards it and violated international rules, as well as increased sanctions against Iran, and it is imperative that the European Union fulfill its human rights obligations at this critical juncture.”
In the end, the President emphasized the development of relations with Finland in all fields and expressed hope that the talks between the two countries on bilateral, international, and regional issues would continue.
In this telephone conversation, the President of Finland expressed his satisfaction with Iran's success in fighting coronavirus, emphasizing the development and deepening of relations with Iran and said, "The two countries have good relations with each other and we hope these relations increase day by day.”
Welcoming the launch of the INSTEX financial mechanism, Sauli Niinistö announced his country's readiness to join the financial mechanism and said, "We support the payment of the International Monetary Fund loan to Iran".
Announcing full support for the JCPOA as an international agreement, the Finnish President added, "Finland is making every effort to preserve the JCPOA and we believe that it should be protected and implemented by all parties."
MNA/President.ir
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