Dr. Seyed Abbas Araghchi, addressing the conference of the Hemophilia Center of Iran, which was held on August 17, cited examples of the US Treasury Department’s obstruction in the purchase of pharmaceutical items by Iran and said: It is interesting that even knowing the rules related to humanitarian exceptions under the sanctions of the United States of America, requires a lot of time and money, and pharmaceutical companies are forced to hire lawyers familiar with the sanctions laws of the United States with huge salaries, which is enough to deprive them of the motivation to do business with Iran.

He clarified: Exceptions have not been able to help protect humanitarian areas from the harms of American sanctions. As a bitter truth, for international companies active in the field of medicine, generating income is the main priority rather than solving human suffering; therefore, they prefer not to enter into a deal with Iran by adhering to the sanctions regime of the United States of America.

The secretary of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations continued: One of the most famous examples in this regard is the Swedish company “Mölnlycke,” which produces dressings for butterfly patients, which has cut off its cooperation with Iran due to concerns about American sanctions, which has caused many problems for the patients in Iran. Of course, those problems are not limited only to interaction with Western companies; many Asian companies have also withdrawn from working with Iran in the field of medicine and treatment, and due to the fear of punitive measures and sanctions of the United States, have announced to their Iranian business partners that they have no choice but to stop business with the Iranian side. Their main reason was the restrictions and bans on logistics and the flow of financial exchanges.

Dr. Araghchi, meanwhile, referred to the report of the special rapporteur of the United Nations Human Rights Council on the effects of the US sanction on the treatment process of Iranian patients, as well as the issuance of a “temporary order” by the International Court of Justice to remove the US obstacles on the import of basic goods, including food, agricultural goods, medicine, and medical equipment to Iran and Washington’s disregard for the order and stated: It is necessary to emphasize that if we are talking about the cruel sanctions of the United States of America and their negative consequences, it does not mean that Iran is unable to deal with those consequences; instead, the purpose is, firstly, to show the lying and hypocrisy of the United States, and the absurdity of the so-called drug exemption from that country’s sanctions, and secondly, to remind the international responsibility of the United States and the need for that country to be accountable for the crimes committed by its cruel sanctions against the people of Iran and other countries.

He added: Iran’s ability to meet its needs and reduce the effectiveness of sanctions in the field of treatment and health does not relieve the responsibility of the US and others who impose sanctions.

The Secretary of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations said: Iranians are indebted to the round-the-clock efforts of the medical staff, domestic manufacturers and drug suppliers, industrialists and manufacturers of medical equipment, and all the officials and workers in this field who, by relying on their knowledge and hard work, have been able to make the effects of sanctions in the field of health weak and in some parts even ineffective; but at the same time, they will not get over the losses caused by the American sanctions, and of course the internal embezzlers of the embargoes who put bread in the blood of the people and are partners in the crimes of those who impose sanctions.