Iran scholar warns against illegality of US sanctions on food, drug

In his letter to the United Nations Secretary General António Guterres, Marandi described as unjust sanctioning access to food and drug for those who are in urgent need.

The full text of Marandi's letter appeared in ams.ac.ir is as follows:

His Excellency, António Guterres,

Excellency,

With respect to my previous correspondence with the United Nations regarding the prevention of the United States' unjust sanctions, I am writing to inform you that despite the illegality of sanctioning food and medicine the US government is preventing access to these vital resources and has therefore put in danger the lives of many patients from small children to the elderly who are in urgent need of medicine and medical equipment.

The effects of these sanctions have been documented. For example, an article published in the Lancet in November 2018 shows the clear detrimental effect these sanctions are having on children suffering from cancer in our country. The US sanctions policy on the Islamic Republic of Iran has been devised in such a way that prevents all banking exchanges, including access to essential medicines and medical equipment which are now virtually impossible.

Mr. Secretary General, for certain this correspondence is not for the sake of commiseration, but as Chairman of The Academy of Medical Sciences of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and on behalf of the country’s medical scientists, we have a duty and responsibility for monitoring the health of the people of our country.

We expect the UN to act against the United States' incessant violation of human rights. When will the lives of children, and women and men across the globe be protected from the criminal behavior of the United States? Until when should cancer, organ transplant and other patients fear death because they are deliberately denied medicine and medical equipment?

Repeatedly we are saying that history will not judge kindly the deafening silence of international human rights organizations, especially the United Nations for their indifference when it comes to the suffering illegally imposed on the ordinary people of Iran. This indifference will further discredit the United Nations in the eyes of people around the world.

We are waiting for the United Nations to take immediate and serious measures against the United States for their criminal actions which are in defiance of all international conventions and norms.

After Washington's May 8 exit from the historic Iran Deal, the US gave 90- and 180-day wind-down periods to other countries before it starts re-imposing oil sanctions on Tehran on November 4.

Part of the US' illegitimate sanctions were imposed on Iran on August 9.

On November 5, Trump reinstated the US nuclear sanctions on Iran and imposed, as he claimed, “the highest level” of economic bans on the Islamic Republic of Iran.

This is while other signatories of Iran Deal condemned the US' measure to withdraw from the JCPOA.

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