US Sanctions against Iran Should Be Suspended To Help Iran in Fighting COVID19

In an interview with Press TV on March 30, 2020, Professor Detlev Ganten, the Founding President of the M8 Alliance and World Health Summit said it is necessary to suspend US sanctions against countries such as Iran under the current circumstances that the world is fighting the COVID-19. He spoke briefly about the TUMS membership in the M8 Alliance and the activities of the M8 Alliance as a strategic pillar of the World Health Summit, and also mentioned that the seventh regional meeting of the summit hosted by TUMS was held in May of 2019 in Kish Island.

He then emphasized the views expressed by the UN officials and health professionals on the need for a global approach to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and the importance of suspending US sanctions against countries such as Iran. He added: "Before the outbreak of the virus, we had called on the United States to end its provocative actions that affect the health of the world's people, and this has become even more important today in the coming crisis and in the fight against the COVID-19".

Professor Detlev Ganten asserted that since the United States has signed the United Nations Charter and the World Health Organization (WHO) is also responsible for resolving this global crisis, the restrictions and sanctions appear to be suspended. Referring to current attempts to suspend sanctions, he stated: "In my opinion, there must be a mechanism for suspension of the sanctions and in this regard, the M8 Alliance, with the suggestion and participation of TUMS, is preparing an article that will soon be published in international journals and be sent to the authorities of different countries and international organizations such as the UN and the WHO".

Professor Ganten emphasized that this article emphasizes on the importance of removing all sanctions and restrictions and extending international cooperation to resolve this global crisis. The Founding President of the M8 Alliance concluded the interview by noting that we have not seen the worst yet, and we have to prepare ourselves to see the very difficult situation in different countries and regions of the world, so it will be very important to eliminate what undermines people's health.