Iran president says US 'blocking' Iranians' access to essentials

TEHRAN: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday that US sanctions were depriving his people of necessities, vowing his government would find a way to overcome the country´s challenges.

“Why are you blocking the people´s access to food, water, and medicine?” Pezeshkian said of the sanctions during a visit to the southern province of Bushehr. “They cannot block our path, we will find a way,” he added in remarks broadcast on state television.

Iran has long argued that US sanctions have prevented the delivery of essential medical products, such as those for patients with epidermolysis bullosa, a rare skin condition. The United States, however, denies its sanctions target medical supplies.

Sanctions also indirectly affect Iranians´ food security, as double-digit inflation driven by US measures can hinder cash-strapped households´ ability to make ends meet. US President Donald Trump, who returned to office in January, has reinstated his “maximum pressure” policy towards Iran over concerns it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran denies the allegations.

Trump´s administration announced new sanctions this month targeting a network accused of shipping Iranian oil to China. It came after he ordered the US government to adopt a campaign “to drive Iran´s export of oil to zero” and to “modify or rescind sanctions waivers”.

Trump also recently called for striking a deal with Iran, suggesting in an interview this week that stopping it from developing nuclear weapons could be achieved either “with bombs” or with an agreement.