Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has urged the United States to lift sanctions on Iran, among the countries hit the hardest by the novel coronavirus.
Iran's death toll from the COVID-19 has reached 3,036, with 138 deaths in the past 24 hours, Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur told state TV on Wednesday, adding that the country had 47,593 infected cases.
The Vermont senator tweeted on Saturday addressed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin in a tweet, telling them that pandemics "know no borders."
"Let us put aside our countries' disputes and lift sanctions to reduce human suffering,” wrote the senator. "Coronavirus has killed 2,600 in Iran, but U.S. sanctions are obstructing medicine and aid from getting in.” Sanders said.
The Jewish senator was joined by other U.S. lawmakers, who have also been vocal about easing the restrictions on the Islamic Republic, including Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilan Omar, as well as Sander's previous democratic presidential candidate rival Elizabeth Warren.
Iran's president, meanwhile, said that with the advent of the coronavirus, the United States had missed a historic opportunity to lift sanctions on his country, though the penalties had not hampered its fight against the infection.
On Tuesday, U.S Secretary of State Mike Pompeo raised the possibility that Washington might consider easing sanctions on Iran and other nations to help fight the epidemic, but gave no concrete sign it plans to do so.
"The United States lost the best opportunity to lift sanctions," Hassan Rouhani said in a televised cabinet meeting. "It was a great opportunity for Americans to apologize ... and to lift the unjust and unfair sanctions on Iran."
"Americans could have used this opportunity and told the Iranian nation that they are not against them," Rouhani said. "Their hostility (towards Iranians) is obvious."