In a sharply worded letter to the head of the United Nations, Iran complained that U.S. sanctions were hurting the nation's ability to confront the deadly novel coronavirus COVID-19, which has killed more than 1,000 in the Islamic Republic.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif claimed that economic sanctions were a "major obstacle," alleging that U.S. actions had prevented the sale of medicine and medical equipment, as well as second-order effects that limited Iran’s broader ability to respond, according to a summary posted on the website of Iran's Foreign Ministry.

"He [Zarif] has finally stressed the necessity for an immediate end to the U.S. government's economic terrorism against people of Iran, and has highlighted the duty of the United Nations and the Member States to support the Iranian people and government's call for an end to the U.S. government's policy," the summary says.

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The U.S. State Department did not respond to a request for comment from Code and Dagger, but a former State official and sanctions expert said that while sanctions do not apply directly to medical equipment or humanitarian aid, Iran does have a point.

"Sanctions have absolutely inhibited their efforts by making it considerably more difficult to engage in all of the transactions necessary to combat the virus," said Richard Nephew, who was Principle Deputy Coordinator for Sanctions Policy at the State Department from 2013 to 2015 under then-President Barack Obama.

Nephew said that while the sanctions wouldn't stop the import of medicine or medical equipment, they would likely inhibit all the second-order industries necessary to actually get ahold of them.

"Try finding a bank to do the settlements. Try finding a ship to take the goods. Try finding an insurance company to cover the shipment," he said in an email. "Sanctions are designed to make all of that harder while leaving space for humanitarian business. But if companies don't want to take that space -- as has been the case -- then the options available are pretty meager."

In sum, Nephew said, "I think the best way of putting it is that sanctions have made a difficult task considerably more difficult." The letter from Zarif comes as satellite photos reportedly showed mass grave that Iran began digging for mortal victims of the COVID-19 virus.

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That hasn’t stopped everyone from trying. Iranian media reported recently that Chinese businessmen had sent thousands of face masks and other sanitary items, and Japan reportedly pledged to donate $23.5 million in medical aid to the country.

Iran has reported more than 11,000 cases of infections, falling only behind China and Italy, and more than 1,000 deaths attributed to the outbreak, according to Johns Hopkins data.

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