Iran to file complaint with ICJ against US medical sanctions

Iran’s Deputy Health Minister in Legal Affairs Taher Mouhebati said that documents have been given to Iranian Vice-President for Legal Affairs La’ya Joneidi, according to IRNA. 

He added that the government will lodge the complaint with the ICJ against Washington over blocking Iran’s access to medical supplies amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The ministry’s official said that the sanctions have negatively affected the Iranians’ health.

Iran is the worst-hit country in the West Asia by the coronavirus that first showed up in China in late December 2019 before spreading across the globe.

The country is battling the highly contagious virus under illegal sanctions which the US imposed after scrapping a UN-backed nuclear deal between Tehran and major world powers in 2018.

The US administration has claimed humanitarian goods, including medicines, are exempt from its sanction, but a web of sanctions tied around Iran over years has made foreign banks and companies extremely wary of engaging in any trade with the country.

Calls have been growing on the international stage for the US to lift its inhumane anti-Iran bans, which have hampered the country’s access to lifesaving medical supplies.

However, the administration of US President Donald Trump has turned a deaf ear to the calls demanding sanctions relief and instead imposed even more restrictive measures on the Islamic Republic.