Pompeo: Islamic Republic Has Enough Money to Combat Coronavirus
The US Secretary of State once again opposed granting a five billion dollar loan from the International Monetary Fund to Iran, declaring that any cash payment made to the Islamic Republic would be used in proxy wars.
Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday in an interview with “Tony Katz on the Morning News” program that America has offered genuine humanitarian assistance to the Iranian people but does not intend to send cash to Iran.
He emphasized that money sent to Iran would not reach the people and would be used for “corrupt purposes.”
The US Secretary of State also said that the Islamic Republic itself has money to fight coronavirus and the leader of the Islamic Republic “has billions of dollars in reserves.”
The US Secretary of State had previously stated that his country is ready to help the Iranian people to save their lives, but at the same time does not want to deliver 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 five billion dollar loan from the International Monetary Fund.
America is opposed to this international institution providing a loan to Iran and says there is no guarantee that the Islamic Republic will not use these funds, instead of fighting coronavirus, to strengthen its weakened economy or support proxy militias it backs in the region.
America had previously proposed financial assistance to Iran in fighting the coronavirus, but Iran immediately rejected the offer.
US President Donald Trump on April 4th, in response to a question about reducing sanctions on Iran so it could deal with the widespread coronavirus outbreak, said that Tehran had not made such a request to Washington.
America says that exports of medical and humanitarian items to Iran are not subject to sanctions, but reports indicate that many banks and companies fear cooperating with Iran due to the sanctions.
Source: Radio Farda
