TEHRAN — Majid Takht-Ravanchi, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, has highlighted the need for lifting of the United States’ sanctions, which have been weakening the targeted countries’ fight against the spread of the coronavirus.

In an address to a UN Security Council meeting at the UN headquarters on Thursday, Takht-Ravanchi said, “Serious outbreaks of certain diseases with a high mortality rate, entail security implications in conflict situations. One example is the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic in the conflict situations in our region from Yemen to Palestine to Syria.”

In these countries, the pandemic has worsened the socioeconomic situation, negatively impacted de-escalation efforts and peace negotiations and, by adding a new layer to the already existing problems, has further complicated the overall situation, he said, according to IRNA.

The Iranian envoy said that in Yemen, where the nation is already experiencing the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, the death toll from the virus could “exceed the combined toll of war, disease and hunger over the last five years”, as stated by the UN officials present in that country.

He also said that in Palestine, the Israeli regime has continued over a decade-long inhumane blockade against the Gaza Strip even during the coronavirus outbreak, leading to further deterioration of the already fragile humanitarian situation there.

“While the impacts of serious outbreaks of certain diseases with a high mortality rate in conflict situations need to be addressed, the immoral and inhumane nature of unilateral sanctions and their impacts on extending the pandemics and worsening the conflicts must not be overlooked,” Takht-Ravanchi concluded.

MH/PA