TEHRAN - The United Nations is asking the Security Council to ease Western sanctions against Iran, a senior UN official said on Tuesday.

“Humanitarian agencies, and people like myself representing them everywhere in the world where there are sanctions, work very hard to mitigate the impact of those sanctions in humanitarian terms, and Iran is no different from anywhere else in that regard,” Martin Griffiths, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, told a press conference in Tehran.

Although sanctions are implemented in various ways, he continued, “Our efforts to mitigate them do not differ regardless of whether it is Iran, Syria, Afghanistan, or any other country.”

Griffiths said that the UN relief bodies seek frequent assistance through important member states to offer an exemption through the Security Council and through humanitarian operations.

"We diligently pursue the implementation of those exemptions," the UN official pointed out.

Griffiths further stated that UN agencies had brought medical and health supplies into Iran to ensure that they are useable and utilized by the people.

He went on to highlight that the UN bodies are committed to ensuring that sanctions do not prevent people who need humanitarian aid from accessing that kind of assistance.

Despite Iran’s complete compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the formal name for the 2015 nuclear deal, the United States under former president Donald Trump unilaterally exited the pact in May 2018 and reimposed crushing sanctions on Iran.

Trump’s so-called “maximum pressure” campaign did not succeed in achieving his intended goals, but the waves of sanctions had a severe impact on ordinary Iranians, especially many who were afflicted with life-threatening diseases.

The sanctions, maintained by the Biden administration, have limited the financial channels required to pay for essential foodstuffs and medication, damaging supply chains by restricting the number of suppliers willing to assist shipments of humanitarian items to the nation.

Iran has blasted the sanctions as “economic terrorism,” “economic war,” and “medical terrorism” on several occasions.

In other parts of his remarks, Griffiths also stated that he has addressed the capacities for bringing peace to Yemen.

He mentioned UN actions aimed at averting starvation in Yemen.

Griffiths added that the most crucial prerequisite for any help to Yemen is peace.

On the UN humanitarian efforts in Afghanistan, he confirmed that the nations are committed to assisting Afghans with $4.6 billion.

The UN official noted that the Taliban was reminded of its obligations to women and girls.