China and Iran lead a group of countries in a joint push for the UN to pressure Washington to lift sanctions, which they charge are hindering the global fight against COVID-19.
“We urge you to request the complete and immediate lifting of such illegal, coercive and arbitrary measures of economic pressure (…) in order to ensure the full, effective and efficient response of all members of the international community to the coronavirus,” they said in a letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
In addition to Iran and China, two of the countries most affected by the coronavirus, the signatories include Russia, Venezuela, North Korea, Nicaragua, Cuba and Syria.