"We called and are calling on the United States to abandon the inhumane practice of applying unilateral sanctions against Iran, which has an acute shortage of means to solve urgent health issues in the current situation of the spread of the coronavirus," Ryabkov said.
The diplomat added that Washington knew the difference between one-off deliveries of humanitarian aid and Iran’s lack of the ability to receive export revenues, which are important for the financing of relevant programs, due to many years of the US' unprecedented harsh sanctions pressure.
"Nevertheless, US officials, including senior ones, do not disdain the obvious distortion of this indisputable fact, pursuing their own geopolitical goals, which we understand," Ryabkov added.
Earlier this week, Beijing urged the US to lift the sanctions against Tehran, as they hamper the country's efforts to contain the outbreak.
More than 270,000 people have been infected with the coronavirus worldwide, with over 11,000 fatalities. Iran is the fourth hardest-hit country with more than 20,000 registered cases and 1,556 fatalities.
