Virus fuels calls for sanctions relief on Iran, Venezuela

From Caracas to Tehran, officials are calling on the Donald Trump administration to ease crippling economic sanctions they contend are contributing to the growing death toll caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The idea has gained support from prominent leftists in the US, including Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who say throwing a financial lifeline to some of the United States' fiercest critics is worth it if lives can be saved.

"It's absolutely unconscionable to keep sanctions on at this moment, Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Centre for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, said in an interview.

"The only moral, sane and legal thing to do is stop the madness that is crippling other countries' health systems."
"If the regime is sincere about looking for resources to help the Iranian people, they could start by giving back some of the tens of billions of dollars they have stolen from the Iranian people."