The dangerous spread of the coronavirus in Iran and the duties of the international community

Iran has limited resources to deal with the epidemic and needs the support of the international community; US sanctions have made it difficult to deal with the coronavirus. The Neue Zurück Zeitung newspaper, in a commentary, assesses this situation in Iran as dangerous.

The coronavirus is spreading silently and rapidly in Iran, claiming more victims every day. According to official statistics, the death rate of the epidemic in Iran is very high, at 7%, which is twice the world average and is only equal to the situation in Italy. Various reports indicate that hospitals have reached their last capacity to provide services, while the virus continues to advance ruthlessly.

According to the latest official statistics, the number of people infected with the disease has reached more than 18,000, and nearly 1,300 people have died so far. In Iran, like in many countries around the world, the number of infected people is much higher.

Like many other countries, Iran needs the help of the international community, but in a situation where the heaviest economic sanctions have been announced against the country by the United States, it is very difficult to receive assistance from other countries, even though the United States emphasizes that the sanctions do not include medical care and health goods.

In an unprecedented move that underscores the worsening situation in Iran, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has appealed to other countries for help in defying US sanctions amid the spread of the coronavirus. In response, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif requested a $5 billion loan for his country from the International Monetary Fund.

Several countries responded to the Islamic Republic's appeal and sent medical supplies and equipment to Iran. In addition to Germany, France, Britain, and Japan, Tehran also received financial aid or medical equipment from Russia and China. Iran thanked its "friends who did not leave it alone in its hardships and difficulties" for this assistance.

Negative American reaction

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stressed that the US attitude towards Iran will not change. He also called on Iran to immediately release the Americans imprisoned in that country. It is clear that the US will not achieve this goal by tightening sanctions. Washington has not only not relaxed its sanctions pressure, but has also recently added new companies and individuals to its long-standing blacklist.

The US government has repeatedly said that sanctions against Iran do not cover food and medicine. It has also said that a financial mechanism activated through Switzerland allows Iran to import essential goods into the country. But experts believe that this mechanism is too limited and slow to save Iran from multilateral pressure.

In the current situation, Iran is in dire need of receiving funds from the International Monetary Fund. Experts believe that this amount could be stored in global banks, both to facilitate Iran's payments and to keep its spending under international supervision.

The surprising event of recent days was that the UAE government, a serious enemy of the Islamic Republic, which has always been a critic of Iran's policy in the Persian Gulf region and blames Iran for the "tanker war", sent medical aid and equipment to Iran on March 16.

Previously, on March 3, a military plane carrying seven and a half tons of medical aid was sent to Iran from the UAE in cooperation with the World Health Organization, along with five experts from that organization.

Iran has confirmed that it has received a total of 32 tons of essential medical supplies from the UAE through two flights from the UAE Air Force. In this regard, Mohammad Javad Zarif thanked UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in a phone call for the medical aid.

Many political observers, who are by no means friends of the Iranian regime, have called on US President Donald Trump to take a friendly step towards resolving hostilities as Iran finds itself in a serious crisis. But evidence suggests that Trump is unwilling to abandon his policy of “maximum pressure” on Iran.

Call to the Iranian government

Iran cannot unilaterally and unconditionally expect help from the international community, but must take more serious measures to prevent the spread of the virus in the country. Tehran's measures to combat the virus have not been sufficient so far. Iran has neither quarantined its cities nor restricted intercity transportation.