Iran decries US embargoes barring access to medical, humanitarian supplies

TEHRAN - The Iranian Judiciary's High Council for Human Rights has urged the world to oppose US "crimes" of embargoes barring Iranians' access to medical and humanitarian supplies.

"The enforcement and intensification of unjust, illegal and inhumane embargoes by the US regime ... have not only caused problems for Iran's normal economic, financial and banking relations, but also made purchase of medicines, diagnostic kits and laboratory equipment practically impossible," the council said on Sunday in a statement, Tasnim news agency reported on Monday.

It said Washington had already embarked on committing "crimes against humanity" by unilaterally withdrawing in 2018 from the 2015 international nuclear deal and since then imposing "the toughest embargoes against the Iranian nation."

The situation has been aggravated recently, the statement continued, through the US unilateral sanctions on 18 semi-public and private banks on Oct 8 "with the goal of creating obstacles on the way of access to food, medicine and humanitarian equipment".

It stressed such sanctions clearly violated the fundamental right of Iranians, dealing a new blow to human rights and international laws.

The Iranian council denied claims by the US government that the embargoes exclude humanitarian items, pointing out that the sanctions on financial institutions have disrupted payments related to the import of those items.

The council urged other governments and international organizations to prevent a further erosion of human rights caused by the United States.