US Sanctions Against Iran Hamper Tehran's Refugee Service Delivery - Interior Minister

Faizan Hashmi Published July 01, 2019 | 09:58 PM

US sanctions against Iran are hindering Tehran's humanitarian and refugee programs as well as its efforts to curb migration, especially to Europe, Iranian Interior Minister Rahmani Fazli said on Monday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st July, 2019) US sanctions against Iran are hindering Tehran's humanitarian and refugee programs as well as its efforts to curb migration, especially to Europe, Iranian Interior Minister Rahmani Fazli said on Monday.

"The cruel sanctions and the US economic war against the Iranian people have created many obstacles to the implementation of the humanitarian programs of the Islamic Republic of Iran and disrupted the services for refugees, on the one hand, and will have a negative impact on the process of combating drug trafficking, human trafficking, and preventing the flood of migration to other countries, especially Europe," Fazli said, as quoted by the Tasnim news agency.

The minister also stressed that over the past four decades, Iran had welcomed a great number of refugees "despite the limited international assistance and the conditions imposed by war and the reconstruction of the country which were followed by cruel sanctions.

Fazli made his statement during a ceremony dedicated to National Refugee Day. The event was attended by Representative of UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Iran Ivo Freijsen.

According to UN data, Iran is one of the most popular destinations among refugees in the middle East, especially those fleeing Afghanistan. On May 11, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araqchi said the country spent $8 billion annually on Afghan migrants.

The relationship between Tehran and Washington became increasingly strained after the latter abruptly withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal back in May 2018 and reimposed sanctions against Iran half a year later. On May 8, Tehran announced that it had partially discontinued its commitments under the accord, saying that the deal failed to protect the state's interests.