The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has denied remarks attributed to its president by Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, about U.S. sanctions impeding flood relief assistance.
In an interview with Radio Farda, Ignatius Ivlev-Yorke, public relation officer of ICRC said that the president of the organization Peter Maurer never mentioned any specific country when he spoke at the UN on Monday.
Zarif had claimed in a tweet Tuesday that Maurer told the UN Security Council U.S. sanctions are preventing the Iranian Red Crescent from providing effective relief assistance to the victims of two-week-long floods, which have brought unprecedented destruction to many regions in Iran.
Ivlev-Yorke said that ICRC is concerned about sanctions affecting assistance in general, but Maurer did not mention any specific country or a specific case at the UN.
He also added that ICRC’s representatives in Iran are closely monitoring the situation in cooperation with the Red Crescent, which “has already mobilized their staff and volunteers” to assist flood-stricken areas. ICRC is ready to explore all possibilities with its Iranian counterparts “if so required”, Ivlev-Yorke said.
Asked if ICRC sees any sanctions-related limitation with providing aid to Iran, he answered, “From our point of view we do not any limitations at this stage to our assistance to the Iranian Red Crescent Society."
