Pompeo says ‘no sanctions’ prevent Covid-19 aid to Iran, as US blocks $5bn IMF loan & ignores calls to lift penalties

 Pompeo says ‘no sanctions’ prevent Covid-19 aid to Iran, as US blocks $5bn IMF loan & ignores calls to lift penalties 

https://www.rt.com/news/485340-pompeo-iran-sanctions-coronavirus/

8 Apr, 2020 23:49

FILE PHOTO: A volunteer wearing a protective suit and face mask sprays disinfectant as he sanitizes a bus station in Tehran, Iran. ©  Reuters / West Asia News Agency / Ali Khara

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said a raft of US sanctions do not stop humanitarian aid from reaching Tehran, even as the UN and rights groups say the penalties are crippling Iran’s healthcare system.

“I’ve heard people talking about sanctions. The world should know there are no sanctions that prevent humanitarian assistance, medical supplies, pharmaceuticals from going to Iran,” Pompeo told reporters at a White House briefing on Wednesday, adding that the US offered to send aid but Iran refused.

Tehran has repeatedly slammed the US pressure campaign – which makes effectively impossible the bank transactions necessary to purchase vital supplies from overseas – deeming it a “historical disgrace” and “economic terrorism” that only complicates efforts to contain the fast-moving epidemic.

Pompeo’s dismissal comes as the State Department protested Iran’s request for a $5 billion emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to fight the coronavirus, which has so far infected over 64,000 Iranians and killed almost 4,000.

After the head of Iran’s central bank, Abdolnaser Hemmati, wrote asking for the urgently needed funds due to the “widespread prevalence” of Covid-19 inside Iran, Foggy Bottom responded by insisting that Washington is “against allocating any loan to Iran” and that the country has sufficient resources to combat the virus on its own.

Some of Washington’s European allies have sidestepped US sanctions and sent medical supplies to Iran this week. Asked about this, US President Donald Trump said that the deliveries “don’t bother” him, but ruled out lifting or easing the sanctions.

The United Nations and other humanitarian bodies have repeatedly urged Washington to ease its sanctions amid the health crisis, with the UN Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet warning they were “impeding medical efforts” and could lead to the “collapse” of Iran’s healthcare system.

Last week, a group of 24 former senior diplomats – including four retired NATO chiefs – also urged the US to ease its sanctions on the Islamic Republic, arguing it could potentially save “hundreds of thousands of lives” there.

“US ‘maximum pressure’ through sanctions on Iran are compromising the performance of the Iranian healthcare system as Iran’s outbreak moves into its second month,” the European and American diplomats said in a statement on Sunday.

Pandemic or not, Washington has refused to relax its policy on either Iran or Venezuela where the coronavirus has also taken hold in recent weeks. The US Treasury department slapped additional sanctions on a number of Iranian firms in late March – accusing them of aiding terrorism – while the Department of Justice recently indicted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on “narco-terrorism” charges as the US Navy embarked on an anti-narcotics mission off the country’s coast.

Live Updates: Russia Announces INF Treaty Officially Dead as US Exits Agreement

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The Trump administration has decided to fully abandon the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, thus bringing an end to over three decades of strategic stability despite consistent calls from Russia to preserve the accord.

The 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), which prohibited the deployment of ground-based nuclear weapons with a range of 500 to 5,500 km, was terminated starting 2 August at the initiative of the United States, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

"On 2 August 2019 the Treaty between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America on the elimination of medium- and short-range missiles, signed in Washington on 8 December 1987, was terminated at the initiative of the American side", the statement says.

Pompeo Accuses Russia of Being Responsible for the INF Collapse

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has confirmed the US withdrawal from the INF treaty and claimed that Russia "bears sole responsibility" for the collapse of the 1987 accord.

Reuters earlier cited several unnamed senior officials in the Trump administration as saying that the initial test of planned conventional US intermediate-range missile will be conducted in the coming months.

The sources later clamed that Moscow had deployed "multiple battalions" of a Russian cruise missile throughout the country in violation of the pact, including in western Russia, "with the ability to strike critical European targets".

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov earlier called on the United States to implement a moratorium on deploying intermediate-range nuclear missiles, now that the deal is dead.

"We have suggested to the US and other NATO members to consider announcing a moratorium on the deployment of intermediate-range missiles. This moratorium would be comparable to one already announced by Vladimir Putin, saying that if the United States does not deploy this equipment in certain regions, then Russia will also refrain from doing so", he added.

Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree suspending Moscow's participation in the accord in a mirror response to Washington's move.

Washington Moves to Withdraw Unilaterally - Moscow Hits Back

In October 2018, US President Donald Trump announced his intention to tear up the treaty, having accused Russia of violating the accord and said that the US would start developing weapons banned under the agreement.

Pompeo Unveils New US Strategy of Attributing Blame for Attacks Before They Have Happened

Pompeo Unveils New US Strategy of Attributing Blame for Attacks Before They Have Happened

 June 14, 2019  Rob Slane

Allergy Warning: May contain traces of Nuts & Boltons

The US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, has blamed Iran for the deaths of 23 Swedish sailors in an attack on an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. However, in what is said to be an unusual move, the incident referred to by Mr Pompeo hasn’t yet happened and no-one has died. Nonetheless, Mr Pompeo was adamant that Iran must bear responsibility for the future incident, and has vowed a strong response:

“It is the assessment of the US Government that Iran will be responsible for this terrible incident, which could well happen in the next few days or weeks. This possible future attack is a threat to international peace and security, a blatant assault on the freedom of navigation, and an unacceptable escalation of tension by Iran. We cannot let this possible attack go unanswered.”

Whilst making an accusation before an incident has taken place took some by surprise, according to an unnamed official in the Trump administration, it is a necessary step to defend the international rules based system from the increasing lawlessness of a number of states around the world:

“For some time, we’ve been making intelligence assessments just a few hours after incidents, long before the evidence is in, and using words like ‘probable’ and ‘highly likely’. But while this has been a useful tool, it’s become clear recently that it really doesn’t go far enough. What the Secretary of State said today is a necessary step, and it sends out a clear message to our adversaries: not only do we not need any evidence before we make our accusations; from now on we put you on notice that we don’t even need an incident.”

The move has been welcomed by the British Government, who issued a statement about the non-attack on the Swedish Tanker.

“It is almost certain that a branch of the Iranian military — the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — will be responsible for the possible attack on the Swedish oil tanker which could happen at some point. No other state or non-state actor could plausibly be responsible for such future attacks. We condemn in the strongest terms what it is highly likely that Iran almost certainly might do, and we stand shoulder to shoulder with the US in condemning this destabilising behaviour that Iran could potentially take.”

According to a US State Department official, Mr Pompeo, who recently admitted to lying, stealing and cheating when director of the CIA, is considering a number of other pre-emptive accusations over the coming weeks. These include condemnation of a possible chemical weapons attack carried out by the Syrian Government next year; plus the discovery of some hidden dead ducks in the English City of Salisbury. According to a source at the New York Times, the CIA director, Gina Haspel, is currently working with British Intelligence to prepare pictures of the ducks to show to President Trump, who is apparently unaware of what ducks, especially dead ones, look like.

When we contacted the Swedish Foreign office to get their reaction to Mr Pompeo’s pre-emptive claims, they said that none of their tankers had been attacked, no Swedish sailors had died and that launching accusations without even an incident, let alone evidence of responsibility, was “deeply unhelpful” to international relations. However, after receiving a phone call from John Bolton, they called us back to say that they now wholeheartedly agree with Mr Pompeo’s statement, are truly sorry for what they said before, and stand shoulder to shoulder with the US in defending the international rules based system. They also condemned Iran for attacking its ship and killing its sailors, which it hasn’t done yet but could well do at some point.