TEHRAN (Iran News) –The UN relief chief says the world body is seeking humanitarian exemptions on Western sanctions against Iran through the Security Council.
The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, made the remarks while speaking at a press conference in Tehran on Tuesday following his talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian.
“Humanitarian agencies, and people like myself representing them everywhere in the world where there are sanctions, work very hard to mitigate the impact of those sanctions in humanitarian terms, and Iran is no different from anywhere else in that regard,” he said.
He added sanctions are applied in different ways “but our efforts to mitigate them do not differ in different countries, whether it is in Iran, in Syria, in Afghanistan or elsewhere.”
He also said that the UN relief bodies are very often assisted by decisions from key member states to provide an exemption through the Security Council and through humanitarian operations, saying, “We diligently pursue the implementation of those exemptions.”
Griffiths further said UN agencies have also in Iran imported medical and health supplies to make sure that they are usable and used for the people of Iran.
Griffiths also expressed his satisfaction with the meeting and dialogue with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran.
Referring to the fact that his trip to Tehran aimed at meeting Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs as well as other Iranian high-ranking officials Griffiths stated that his position includes opportunities and challenges adding: “One of the issues raised was the existing parties to achieve peace and stability in Yemen.”
Referring to the impact of sanctions of Iran, UN official stressed: “The ultimate effort of the United Nations is to reduce the effects of sanctions on Iran, Syria and Afghanistan.”
He noted: “We tried to consider exemptions through the Security Council for these countries. Attempts were made to get medical items and drugs reached to Iran.”
“Our interest in sanctions is not political, it’s humanitarian, and it just seeks to ensure where people need humanitarian aid, sanctions do not impede their access to that aid,” he concluded.
The United States under former president Donald Trump reinstated crippling sanctions on Iran after unilaterally walking out of the 2015 nuclear deal in May 2018, despite Iran’s full compliance with the terms of the agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Iran has repeatedly denounced the sanctions as an act of “economic war”, “economic terrorism”, and “medical terrorism”.
The UN official called on the countries which have committed to provide relief aid to Afghans to fulfill their promises.
He emphasized the significance of UN reports, such as the one prepared by Elena Dohan, the world body’s special rapporteurs on the impact of unilateral sanctions.
Several UN institutions and the one “that I represent are active in humanitarian affairs. Wherever sanctions are applied, they do their best to reduce the effects of sanctions on the people, and Iran is no exception to this,” he said.
