US claims banks won't be sanctioned over humanitarian aid to Iran

Foreign banks will not be punished for funding health and medical supplies, U.S. official’s claims. These supplies include items such as hand sanitizer, ventilators, and personal protective equipment (PPE), all of which are essential to mitigating the coronavirus pandemic.

Like much of the world, Iran saw a large spike in coronavirus cases once colder seasons began. The country has so far confirmed more than 1 million cases and more than 50,000 deaths.

Apart from medical equipment, processing payments to pay for staffing at international organizations and missions will also be exempted from the sanctions, Reuters reports.

An official wrote, “The United States maintains broad exceptions ... that allow for the commercial sale and export of humanitarian goods.”

This clarification follows calls from European leaders for leniency from the Trump administration, saying broad sanctions would get in the way of necessary humanitarian trade.

In October, Trump issued far-reaching sanctions targeting 18 banks. The move faced criticism for its potential to disrupt humanitarian aid in the middle of a pandemic.

President-elect Joe Biden has indicated that the U.S. will attempt to rejoin the Iran nuclear deal under his administration set to begin in January. Overall, Biden has signaled that his presidency will be more amiable to the international stage than Trump’s.

Iranian central bank governor Abdolnasser Hemmati said “it must be recorded in historical memory” that Iran’s attempts to pre-pay orders by transferring funds “have faced obstacles due to the inhumane sanctions of the US government and the need to obtain permits from the OFAC”, the US treasury’s office of foreign assets control.

Iran has ordered 16.8 million vaccine doses, which would inoculate 10 million of its 80 million people, according to its ministry of health spokesman Kianush Jahanpour.

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