Pompeo: Islamic Republic has enough money to fight coronavirus

The US Secretary of State once again opposed the IMF's $5 billion loan to Iran and announced that the cash paid to the Islamic Republic would be used in proxy wars.

Mike Pompeo said in an interview with Tony Katz on the Morning News program on Tuesday that the United States has offered real humanitarian assistance to the Iranian people but does not intend to send cash to Iran.

He stressed that the money sent to Iran would not be available to the people and would be spent on "corrupt purposes."

The US Secretary of State also said that the Islamic Republic has its own money to fight the coronavirus and that the Leader of the Islamic Republic "has billions of dollars in reserves."

The US Secretary of State had previously said that his country was ready to help the Iranian people to save their lives, but at the same time did not want to hand over cash to the Islamic Republic.

The Iranian government has repeatedly called for the lifting of oil sanctions during the coronavirus outbreak and has also requested a $5 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.

The United States opposes the international institution's loan to Iran, saying there is no guarantee that the Islamic Republic will not spend these funds on strengthening its weakened economy or helping its supported militia groups in the region, instead of fighting the coronavirus.

The United States had previously offered Iran financial assistance in the fight against the coronavirus, but Iran immediately rejected the offer.

On April 4, US President Donald Trump, in response to a question about easing sanctions on Iran so that it can combat the widespread spread of the coronavirus, said that Tehran had not made such a request to Washington.

The United States says that exports of medical and humanitarian items to Iran are not subject to sanctions, but reports indicate that many banks and companies are afraid to cooperate with Iran because of the sanctions.

Source: Radio Farda