What U.S. Sanctions Mean for Iran’s Coronavirus Fight

Since Iran emerged as the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the Middle East, its leaders have called on the U.S. to suspend economic sanctions so that they can more effectively fight and contain the pathogen. The U.S. has instead forged ahead with its strategy and sees the pandemic as an opportunity to further weaken and destabilize the country. The U.S. State Department says that humanitarian goods, including medicine and medical supplies, are exempt and not subject to any trade restrictions. Yet it has imposed sanctions on 18 Iranian banks, including lenders that were still able to carry out trade in foods and medicines.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control says the U.S. has “consistently maintained broad exceptions and authorizations to support humanitarian transactions with Iran.” Exemptions for medical goods and medicine came into effect in 2001 under President Bill Clinton, who imposed the first major sanctions against Iran in 1995. These exemptions were periodically widened so that by 2012 they included agricultural products and most foods. After the U.S. and other world powers reached a 2015 deal with Iran on its nuclear program, the State Department made efforts to reassure banks and traders over transactions with Iran through roadshows and meetings at embassies. That approach was abandoned after President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the deal and began a campaign of “maximum pressure,” seeking to force Iran’s leaders to abandon uranium enrichment and end support for militias and proxies such as Hezbollah, designated a terrorist group by the U.S.