Iranian official slams US blocking of Iran loan request to IMF as violation of global right to health norm

“US opposition to #Iran's loan request from the #IMF is a violation of the Peremptory Norm of Right to Health,” Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), said in a Saturday tweet, adding, "Third-party governments have 2 obligations: To cut ties with the violating government & to take action to resolve the illegal situation."

Shamkhani also took a swipe at the European countries for their inaction in this regard, saying, “Europe as always just said sorry.”

Governor of the Central Bank of Iran Abdolnaser Hemmati wrote last month to the IMF to request a $5 billion emergency loan for funding Tehran’s needs under the current circumstances that the sanction-hit country is battling the deadly virus.

However, the US has moved to block Iran’s request for the

loan, according to various reports.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said on April 21 that the European Union should fulfill its duties at a time that Washington’s sanctions have caused serious problems for the Iranian people.

Despite the hardships it is suffering due to the US sanctions, Iran has been doing its utmost to contain COVID-19, a respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus.

Tehran has repeatedly said it does not seek Washington’s help in the fight, but wants the White House to lift the illegal economic sanctions so that Iran could mobilize its own resources to tackle the pandemic.

The administration of US President Donald Trump has not only defied international calls on Washington in recent weeks to halt the draconian sanctions, but has even slapped more such restrictive measures on the Islamic Republic.

Washington re-imposed its sanctions on Iran in May 2018 after unilaterally leaving a historic nuclear accord with the Islamic Republic and five other major powers that has been endorsed by the UN Security Council.

Iran's Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi said on Saturday that the country is witnessing a “declining trend” in the number of fatalities and cases of new coronavirus infections as a result of bilateral cooperation between the people and the government.

“There is a declining trend in corona disease in most provinces and this has been the result of effective measures by the people and the government," Harirchi said.