Foreign Minister Javad Zarif remarked that addressing the COVID-19 pandemic “is not related to the borders and interests… wherever we fail, the whole world has failed”. He added: “what doubles the suffering of Iranians [from COVID-19], what limits their choices in crisis management and what aggravates concerns for citizens’ livelihood, is that sanctions and coronavirus are coming at the same time… the combination of sanctions and coronavirus is a more dangerous enemy and a more serious complication which makes the corona bolder and makes crisis management decisions more difficult”. “The world needs a moral will against the U.S.’s excessive demands, and complying with sanctions should not lead to more war crimes”, he urged. “This is the nastiest face of a government, addicted to sanctions, that [is] seeking to revive the failed campaign of maximum pressure by weakening Iran against coronavirus”.