Accessibility links

Breaking News

Iranian Red Crescent: Flood-Hit Iran Getting No Financial Aid From Abroad Due to US Sanctions


A man crosses a flooded street in the city of Khorramabad in western province of Lorestan, Iran, April 1, 2019.
A man crosses a flooded street in the city of Khorramabad in western province of Lorestan, Iran, April 1, 2019.

U.S. sanctions have prevented the Iranian Red Crescent from obtaining any foreign financial aid to assist victims of flooding that has killed at least 70 people and inundated some 1,900 communities, the group said on Sunday.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last week that Washington was ready to help via the Red Cross and Red Crescent, but accused Iran's clerical establishment of "mismanagement in urban planning and in emergency preparedness".

"No foreign cash help has been given to the Iranian Red Crescent society. With attention to the inhuman American sanctions, there is no way to send this cash assistance," the Red Crescent said in a statement.

It said the group had received some non-financial help from abroad which had been distributed to flood victims.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said last week that U.S. sanctions - reimposed after Washington quit a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers - were impeding aid efforts to flood-stricken towns and villages.

"Blocked equipment includes relief choppers: This isn't just economic warfare; it's economic TERRORISM," he said on Twitter.

Vehicles are piled up on a street after a flash flood in the southern city of Shiraz, Iran, March 25, 2019.
Vehicles are piled up on a street after a flash flood in the southern city of Shiraz, Iran, March 25, 2019.

The flood disaster, arising from exceptionally heavy rainfall since March 19, has left aid agencies struggling to cope and seen 86,000 people moved to emergency shelters.

The government has told citizens, and especially flood-affected farmers, that all losses will be compensated.

  • 16x9 Image

    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

XS
SM
MD
LG