TEHRAN, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Monday that the United States has obstructed the international fight against novel coronavirus outbreak by maintaining anti-Iran sanctions.
"Iranian people appreciate the growing global campaign of government and civil society leaders calling for the lifting of illegal U.S. sanctions," Zarif tweeted.
However, "the United States is not listening, impeding global fight against COVID-19," he said, urging the countries to defy U.S. pressures.
Iran is one of the hardest-hit countries by the novel coronavirus epidemic, with the total number of confirmed cases of 23,049, of whom 1,812 have died.
After the outbreak of COVID-19 in Iran on Feb. 19, the Iranian officials strongly criticized the continuation of U.S. tough economic sanctions against the country which they said hampers Iran's fight to stem the disease.
