Sweeping U.S. sanctions imposed on Iran have badly impacted the country's economy and worsened the humanitarian situation in the Persian Gulf nation, a United Nations special envoy said Wednesday.
According to Alena Douhan, the U.N. special rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures, the sanctions have affected Iran's main export groups, banks and also several companies and nationals, including some pharmaceuticals and food production.
This has led to inflation and growing poverty, and depleted state resources for dealing with the basic needs of people with low income and other vulnerable groups, Douhan told reporters during a press conference in Tehran. She singled out those suffering from "severe diseases, disabled people, Afghan refugees, women-led households and children" as being badly affected by the measures.