UNITED NATIONS (Kayhan Intl.) – Iran has strongly denounced U.S. sanctions on the country, saying the coercive measures are negatively affecting the daily lives of millions of Iranians.
Iran’s Ambassador to the United Nations Majid Takht-Ravanchi told the United Nations General Assembly meeting that the sanctions "are neither short of war nor better than or an alternative to war”, adding they are actually tantamount to war "but by other means and names”.
Washington, he said, has extended its sanctions against Iranians through weaponizing food and medicine in total disregard of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling on October 3, 2018.
The United Nations’ highest court ordered the U.S. at the time "to lift sanctions linked to humanitarian goods and civil aviation imposed against Iran”.
"By any measure, the U.S. sanctions are illegitimate, immoral, inhumane and cruel,” Takht-Ravanchi told the UN meeting on nuclear non-proliferation and implementation of Resolution 2231, which backed the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
"It is a shame that the U.S. bullying has resulted in discontinuation of export of certain medicines to Iran, causing nightmare for some patients,” he said.
"For instance, a European company, under the pressure of US sanctions, has stopped exporting special bandages for patients suffering from EB, a rare genetic condition resulting in easy blistering of the skin,” he said.
Takht-Ravanchi spoke about a two-year old girl, named Ava, during his statement to the 15-member council. He said the girl had died in June from the rare disease and blamed the death on U.S. sanctions.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft reportedly walked over toward her Iranian counterpart in the Security Council chamber after the speech and expressed condolences over the death of the toddler.
Iran’s U.N. mission spokesman Alireza Miryousefi said they "merely had a short conversation on EB patients affected by sanctions”.
"It is not out of the ordinary for UN diplomats accredited to the UN to run into each other, or to have brief encounters, at HQ,” Miryousefi tweeted.
Since U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States
from the nuclear deal, his administration has reimposed sanctions on Tehran with the aim of choking Iranian crude oil sales, the Islamic Republic’s main source of revenues.
While food, medicine and other humanitarian supplies are exempt from U.S. sanctions, the U.S. measures targeting everything from oil sales to shipping and financial activities have deterred several foreign banks from doing business with Iran, including humanitarian deals.
The U.S. strategy of exerting "maximum pressure” on Tehran is tantamount to economic terrorism, which is claiming the lives of innocent people, Takht-Ravanchi said.
"Therefore, those who have been involved in designing, advocating and executing these sanctions must be held accountable.”
Takht-Ravanchi said Washington’s offer of unconditional talks with Tehran is disingenuous.
"The call for dialogue with Iran while simultaneously insisting on the application of maximum pressure policy against the Iranian people is mutually exclusive. Iran does not negotiate under the threat of a sword,” he said.
The ambassador stressed that Iran’s legitimate defensive capabilities are non-negotiable and that the country’s missile are "not designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons”.
Iran’s Ambassador to the United Nations Majid Takht-Ravanchi told the United Nations General Assembly meeting that the sanctions "are neither short of war nor better than or an alternative to war”, adding they are actually tantamount to war "but by other means and names”.
Washington, he said, has extended its sanctions against Iranians through weaponizing food and medicine in total disregard of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling on October 3, 2018.
The United Nations’ highest court ordered the U.S. at the time "to lift sanctions linked to humanitarian goods and civil aviation imposed against Iran”.
"By any measure, the U.S. sanctions are illegitimate, immoral, inhumane and cruel,” Takht-Ravanchi told the UN meeting on nuclear non-proliferation and implementation of Resolution 2231, which backed the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
"It is a shame that the U.S. bullying has resulted in discontinuation of export of certain medicines to Iran, causing nightmare for some patients,” he said.
"For instance, a European company, under the pressure of US sanctions, has stopped exporting special bandages for patients suffering from EB, a rare genetic condition resulting in easy blistering of the skin,” he said.
Takht-Ravanchi spoke about a two-year old girl, named Ava, during his statement to the 15-member council. He said the girl had died in June from the rare disease and blamed the death on U.S. sanctions.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft reportedly walked over toward her Iranian counterpart in the Security Council chamber after the speech and expressed condolences over the death of the toddler.
Iran’s U.N. mission spokesman Alireza Miryousefi said they "merely had a short conversation on EB patients affected by sanctions”.
"It is not out of the ordinary for UN diplomats accredited to the UN to run into each other, or to have brief encounters, at HQ,” Miryousefi tweeted.
Since U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States
from the nuclear deal, his administration has reimposed sanctions on Tehran with the aim of choking Iranian crude oil sales, the Islamic Republic’s main source of revenues.
While food, medicine and other humanitarian supplies are exempt from U.S. sanctions, the U.S. measures targeting everything from oil sales to shipping and financial activities have deterred several foreign banks from doing business with Iran, including humanitarian deals.
The U.S. strategy of exerting "maximum pressure” on Tehran is tantamount to economic terrorism, which is claiming the lives of innocent people, Takht-Ravanchi said.
"Therefore, those who have been involved in designing, advocating and executing these sanctions must be held accountable.”
Takht-Ravanchi said Washington’s offer of unconditional talks with Tehran is disingenuous.
"The call for dialogue with Iran while simultaneously insisting on the application of maximum pressure policy against the Iranian people is mutually exclusive. Iran does not negotiate under the threat of a sword,” he said.
The ambassador stressed that Iran’s legitimate defensive capabilities are non-negotiable and that the country’s missile are "not designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons”.
No comments:
Post a Comment