Iranian Petroleum Minister Bijan Zanganeh contended that “U.S. sanctions and depriving Iran of [its] hydrocarbon revenues has caused the country to face problems in handling the new coronavirus [pandemic]. Therefore, I believe that the U.S. administration is responsible for the deaths of [more than] 400 Iranian people every day due to the coronavirus’ pandemic”. Relatedly, a senior Iranian health official reported that “our country’s pre-payment to participate in COVAX is under way, but due to the cowardly sanctions of the Americans and the problems in the transfer of currency, this has not happened yet”.