Iran was one of the first countries to be hit by the global outbreak of the novel coronavirus which initially surfaced in the city of Wuhan in China. Now, with the official death toll[1] from the virus standing at 3,603 as of 6 April 2020, Iran is one of the worst affected.
There is unanimity among Iran observers and global health experts on Iran’s mismanagement of the situation: its response to early reports of the virus circulating in the country was inadequate. However, unlike other countries, Iran’s fight is twice as arduous because of the back-breaking economic sanctions the U.S. has slapped on it after withdrawing[2] from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in May 2018.
International and U.S. sanctions have been part and parcel of Iran’s ailing economy for nearly four decades.But these become deadly when coupled with an unexpected calamity like COVID-19. These days, the medical sector has a shortage of protective gear, ventilators, disposable gloves, diagnostic test kits and other equipment, direly needed in hospitals and laboratories. Businessmen and health professionals say the U.S. sanctions are to blame for these shortages.
Even such basic items as surgical masks and disinfectant gels, which the government of President Hassan Rouhani had confidently promised[3] would be distributed gratis among the Iranian citizens, are scarce,difficult to obtain or available at unusual prices.
At such a critical time, Iran needs monetary resources to be able to shore up its remedial actions. But the sanctions are so sweeping that they have drained a major portion of Iran’s revenues and left the authorities in Tehran with no economic lifeline with which to inject cash into the healthcare sector.
For the first time since 1962, Iran has applied[4] for a $5-billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after the organisation announced that countries hit by COVID-19 will be assisted through the Rapid Financial Instrument scheme. However, whether Iran’s request will be granted is uncertain given the U.S.’ veto power over such decisions at the IMF.
The official narrative[5] of the Trump administration is that medicine, medical equipment, and agricultural products are exempt from sanctions. In February this year, an announcement went viral in the global media that with the help of the U.S. government, a Swiss payment mechanism had been set up to enable humanitarian trade with Iran.
In practical terms, however, importing such goods is an uphill battle[6], with international banks afraid of falling foul of the U.S. sanctions if they route transactions to do with medicine, medical devices, and food to Iran. Consequently, these transactions never happen, or when they do, the entire process is singularly sluggish and the consignments arrive when it is too late.
Even during this humanitarian crisis, there are those who are against these limited deals between Iran and other countries, and want them scrapped altogether. United Against Nuclear Iran[7] is a pressure group in the U.S., publicly naming and shaming any company which engages in business with Iran. It has recently provided[8] a list of nine medical and pharmaceutical companies that trade with Iran under special licenses by the U.S.Department of Treasury, calling upon, or even coercing them, to halt their exports to Iran.
Some of Iran’s neighbors, and countries such as Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia, have delivered medical supplies to help the country overcome the coronavirus outbreak. The European Union has also pledged €20 million in humanitarian aid to Iran.
A number of Congresspeople, foreign dignitaries, UN officials and hundreds[9] of academicians have petitioned President Trump to repeal the sanctions on humanitarian grounds, but there has been no response yet.Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has signalled[10] that the U.S. may reconsider its sanctions policy and give Iran and other sanctioned countries some leeway to benefit from international aid. However, no significant decision on the large-scale suspension of sanctions has been made, and facilitating trade with Iran doesn’t seem to be a priority for the White House.
That Iranian civilians thus continue to suffer during what the UN Secretary General has described[11] as the biggest challenge for humanity after the Second World War,spawns two important conclusions.First, the U.S. is compromising its standing as a global leader by adhering unrelentingly to the sanctions regime without showing flexibility even in the face of a major crisis. It will thus be complicit in multiplying the suffering of Iranians.
Secondly, this pandemic has lessons for the Iranian leadership. Iran has now realised that it is not an abandoned island, with no ties with the outside world.This crisis has highlighted the need for it to enjoy meaningful international partnerships, which it currently lacks. Iran’s policies have consequences for its people, and even if it doesn’t yearn for a lofty position in the international community, it must decide prudently what its priorities are and where its investments should go. The sanctions are a response to Iran’s controversial nuclear programme and its regional policies. Has this nuclear programme ever benefited the country? Can it, now, while Iranian doctors struggle to save the lives of citizens dying en mass in hospitals of COVID-19?
The coronavirus pandemic is not merely a health emergency. It’s a test of humanity for global leaders, and a defining moment for the survival of a vulnerable Iran situated in the middle of a deadly pincer – the political miscalculations of its ill-advised decision-makers, on the one hand, and uncompromising world powers, on the other.
Kourosh Ziabari is an award-winning Iranian journalist, media correspondent and peace activist. He is a regular contributor to Gateway House.
This article was exclusively written for Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations. You can read more exclusive features here.
For interview requests with the author, or for permission to republish, please contact outreach@gatewayhouse.in or 022 22023371.
© Copyright 2020 Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized copying or reproduction is strictly prohibited.
References
[1] Worldometers, ‘COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic’, 7 April 2020, https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
[2] Smith, Dan, ‘The US withdrawal from the Iran deal: One year on’, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, 7 May 2019, https://www.sipri.org/commentary/expert-comment/2019/us-withdrawal-iran-deal-one-year
[3] ‘Medical Masks are distributed free of charge’, Islamic Republic News Agency, https://www.irna.ir/news/83684121/%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B3%DA%A9-%D8%B7%D8%A8%DB%8C-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%B5%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%AA-%D8%B1%D8%A7%DB%8C%DA%AF%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%B2%DB%8C%D8%B9-%D9%85%DB%8C-%D8%B4%D9%88%D8%AF
[4] ‘Nearly five decades later, Iran applied for an IMF loan’, Islamic Republic News Agency, https://plus.irna.ir/news/83713780/%D9%BE%D8%B3-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D9%86%D8%B2%D8%AF%DB%8C%DA%A9-%DB%B5-%D8%AF%D9%87%D9%87-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%85%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%B6%DB%8C-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%B5%D9%86%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%82-%D8%A8%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%84%D9%84%DB%8C-%D9%BE%D9%88%D9%84-%D8%B4%D8%AF
[5] United States Embassy in Lebanon, ‘Briefing on Iran Sanctions’, Government of United States, https://lb.usembassy.gov/briefing-on-iran-sanctions/
[6] Azodi, Sina, ‘How US Sanctions hinder Iranians’ access to Medicine’ Atlantic Council, 31 May 2019, https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/iransource/how-us-sanctions-hinder-iranians-access-to-medicine/
[7] United Against Nuclear Iran, https://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/
[8] Clifton, Eli, ‘Amid Coronavirus-outbreak, Trump aligned pressure group pushes to stop medicine sales to Iran’, Responsible Statecraft, 5 March 2020, https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2020/03/05/amid-coronavirus-trump-uani-pushes-to-stop-medicine-sales-to-iran/
[9] ‘Academics and NGO Leaders: End Iran Sanctions’, The Institute for Peace & Diplomacy, 27 March 2020, https://peacediplomacy.org/2020/03/27/end-iran-sanctions/
[10] Mohammed, Arshad & Pamuk, Humeyra, ‘U.S. could rethink Iran sanctions in light of Coronavirus: Pompeo’, Reuters, 1 April 2020, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-iran-usa/u-s-might-rethink-iran-sanctions-in-light-of-coronavirus-outbreak-pompeo-idUSKBN21I33F
[11] United Nations-Secretary General, ‘Transcript of UN Secretary General’s virtual press encounter to launch the Report on the Socio-Economic Impact of COVID-19’, United Nations, 31 March 2020, https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/press-encounter/2020-03-31/transcript-of-un-secretary-general%E2%80%99s-virtual-press-encounter-launch-the-report-the-socio-economic-impacts-of-covid-19