Sanctions During A Global Pandemic
US SANCTIONS ARE CRIPPLING IRAN
Amongst the countless countries affected by the coronavirus crisis, Iran has been one of the most heavily impacted. There are currently more than 50,000 reported cases and more than 3,000 deaths since the virus emerged. The Iranian Health Ministry declared that one person dies from coronavirus every 10 minutes and 50 are becoming infected every hour. Whilst there are other factors that have contributed to the spread of COVID-19 in Iran, one of the main reasons as to why there seems to be no “light at the end of the tunnel” is due to the tight and punitive sanctions the United States have placed on the country.
The current sanctions regime has emerged from increasing tensions between Iran and the US, however its impact is felt most heavily by the most vulnerable in Iran. The sanctions place limitations on Iran’s ability to access medical equipment and other essential items from abroad which are needed to prevent the further spread of the virus. Furthermore, the Trump administration announced that it will reduce the number of licences it grants to companies for medical exports to Iran with products including including oxygen generators, thermal imaging equipment and full-face respirator masks. In early March 2020, the Trump administration confirmed that it would not offer any sanctions relief to Iran despite the fact that the coronavirus outbreak is crippling the nation.
SANCTIONS ARE “GENOCIDAL”
Sanctions have been described as an alternative to war. Under international law principles, sanctions are a form of warfare that aim to “destroy economies, isolate countries, coerce allies and keep tensions boiling to maintain a constant threat of war”. If sanctions have proven to create devastating impacts on countries upon which they are imposed, tightening them during a global pandemic can arguably be framed as an act of genocide. Alfred de Zayas, former UN Special Rapporteur has stated that the intensified US sanctions on Iran especially during the coronavirus pandemic could indeed amount to genocide.
Sanctions are a weapon of war; they create a damaging effect on the masses through a slow and painful death. The sanctions on Iran appeal to right-wing leaders like Trump who earlier this year revealed the genocidal intent behind the Iran sanctions when he threatened (on Twitter) “the official end of Iran”.
The US have long resorted to the use of sanctions as a weapon of starvation and deprivation of medicine, ultimately targeting the most vulnerable in the countries they do not get along with. The White House, in April 2019, announced that its goal was to “drive Iranian exports to zero…stopped allowing countries like India, China, Japan and Turkey to import Iranian oil: dictating to sovereign countries whom they can trade with” These sanctions purport to weaken Iran’s economy and remove its access to the global banking system, which has severely impacted their ability to treat serious cases arising from the virus.
TESTING IRAN’S SOCIAL AND POLITICAL SYSTEM
Prior to the tightened sanctions, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei brushed off the disease as part of a campaign against Iran, however after a number of officials tested positive for COVID-19, its leaders began to rethink the impact of the virus outbreak on Iran. They have not only placed Iran in a difficult position, but also highlight the US “erosion of moral authority reducing its ability to influence events and achieve its goals without resorting to military force”.
Iran’s economic position has been significantly impacted due to both the US sanctions and the political mismanagement of the State’s income. Iranian economist Masoud Nili wrote, “the continuation…could lead to the point where the poor would be unable to protect themselves against coronavirus…they would become the epicentre of contracting and spreading the disease”.
For many, the outbreak of the coronavirus has signalled an urgency to question politics as we know it. Dominant media platforms aim to paint a negative image of countries such as Iran to justify sanctions and punitive measures, leaving an entire nation dependent on its own leadership, which may also be guilty of corrupt governance.
The US must lift its sanctions on Iran, if it seeks to uphold the message of solidarity that is pushed by the World Health Organization. It is clear that the Iranian people that are feeling the brunt of a global pandemic and the weight of tensions between two countries. Demonstrating compassion in a time of crisis is an ideal foreign policy and one that must be implemented if we are to reduce the number of coronavirus cases globally.
Amara is in her final year of a Bachelors of Laws and Communication majoring in Social and Political Sciences at the University of Technology, Sydney. She is incredibly passionate about human rights and social justice and intends to pursue a career in international human rights law in the near future.