In Letter to American People, Iranian President Raps Sanctions

Tasnim News Agency
March 21, 2020

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani sent a message to the people of the United States of America on Friday, saying the time has come for the American nation to end the “dark chapter” of Washington’s sanctions in the US history to contribute to the global battle with the coronavirus.

Following is the full text of the Iran president’s message to American people released by his official website on Friday, March 20:

In the Name of God, the Compassionate the Merciful

On behalf of the great Iranian nation, I write to the people of the United States of America on the occasion of the Iranian New Year (Nowruz). The coronavirus outbreak has endangered the health of—and even presented a considerable threat to—humanity with no distinction as to nationality, or gender or religious backgrounds. This presents an opportune moment to further contemplate our common pains and our human principles. 

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End All Sanctions Now

To Assist with the Fight Against Coronavirus

As of today, March 23, 2020, Italy’s death toll from the Coronavirus reached 6000, surpassing that of China. New numbers from Iran are very grim, with a 15% hike in deaths, amid a total of 23,000 confirmed cases thus far. Venezuela remains on lockdown after dozens of people tested positive for the virus. As a result of the U.S. Sanctions, the health care system in Venezuela is in shambles since many hospitals do not have basic medical supplies, let alone water or electricity. Cuba confirmed its first cases of Covid-19 last week, and is now dealing with another crisis after its food supplies were dramatically reduced as a result of the U.S. Petrol Blockade. The common thread in all of this human suffering are the U.S. Sanctions.

Is the Coronavirus not the ultimate leveler that can teach the world the lessons that national ego, pride, and so-called “exceptionalism” do not teach us? Are the U.S. Sanctions not feeding the Coronavirus epidemic right now, by hampering the ability of many countries to respond?

As we all know, the U.S. imposes some form of Sanctions against 39 different countries, including Russia, thus affecting over one-third of the world’s population. These Sanctions cause immense humanitarian suffering, are a violation of international law and are especially immoral at times like these when we are facing a global pandemic.

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Dear CCI Friends,

March 5 to 15 was to be downtime with my four adult kids, spouses and the youngest five grandchildren in Bend, Oregon. I flew from a near-empty SFO to Portland on a helicopter-type of small plane, then to Bend on a compact, two-engine plane … apparently due to few passengers.

Arriving in Bend at my youngest son’s home (two sets of twins, ages 8 and 3 years), I found him exhausted with the flu. The older twins brought it home from school, 3 year olds next, parents next… I was last to get a mild version. Meanwhile, the coronavirus was being followed on all the networks. Despite it all, visiting and cooking with my kids and grandkids was healing and wonderful.

As for COVID – 19, it’s tragic to learn about those fighting for life on respirators, health care workers exposed to the coronavirus everyday, and the loss of income for millions of young people and families struggling to survive even before this contagion interrupted our lives.

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Dear CCI Friends,

You may have received this information previously; if so, ignore.

Sharon Tennison
Center for Citizen Initiatives

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Dear CCI Readers,

Few persons have the privilege of being printed or mentioned on the front page of The New York Times, but unfortunately the piece in question that Ambassador Matlock is referring to was pure misinformation.In his rebuttal, Ambassador Matlock calls the NYT to task for their printed untruths. Enjoy this correction. Hopefully the NYT will be more inclined to print facts in the future.

Sharon Tennison
Center for Citizen Initiatives

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