Biden urges Trump to ease Iran sanctions, ‘the humane thing to do’

Roughly 50,000 Iranians have been infected with coronavirus and 3,160 have died as a result.

By Aaron Sull, World Israel News

Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden called on President Donald Trump on Thursday to ease economic sanctions on Iran as a humanitarian gesture to help the country fend off the coronavirus.

“It makes no sense, in a global health crisis, to compound that failure with cruelty by inhibiting access to needed humanitarian assistance,” Biden said in a statement.

“Artificially limiting the flow of international humanitarian assistance to pursue a political point will not only allow the Iranian government to deflect responsibility for its own botched response, it will increase the threat this virus poses to the American people, now and in the future,” he said.

The former vice president said the administration should “ease the path” for international banks to operate in Iran and issue “broad licenses” to pharmaceutical and medical companies in an effort to combat the deadly virus.

The U.S. has insisted that despite adding new sanctions, it has offered humanitarian help, which the regime refused.

According to Biden, that’s not enough.

“The administration’s offer of aid to Iran is insufficient if not backed by concrete steps to ensure the United States is not exacerbating this growing humanitarian crisis, Biden said.

“Whatever our many, many disagreements with the Iranian government, it’s the right and the humane thing to do,” he added.

Last week, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani accused America’s offer to help a big lie.

“That the Americans say ‘We are ready to help’ under the difficult conditions of the coronavirus is one of the great lies of history,” Rouhani said.

“It’s as if someone has taken a well and does not permit you to have clear water and then brings you a glass of muddy water and offers it to you and says ‘I know you are thirsty; I have come here to help,’” he said.

Roughly 50,000 Iranians have been infected with coronavirus and 3,160 have died as a result of it, according to the most recent data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.