“At this point, it’s probably not enough for the U.S. to say that companies are allowed to sell drugs and medical equipment to Iran to help battle the coronavirus—they’re already technically allowed to sell those things. But that doesn’t mean the U.S. can just sit back. ‘There are small and large steps the United States can take to try to speed aid to Iran,’ says Elizabeth Rosenberg, a former Treasury Department official who is now a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. ‘They could do more to broadcast that it put this license in place and encourage those in a position to support Iran’s public health response to do so. We could get there and counter the narrative that Iran is pushing.’ It’s not just a matter of lifting some sanctions, in other words; it’s a question of publicly backing efforts to support Iran’s crisis response…
“As Rosenberg points out, ‘Like it or not, we are all in this pandemic together. We all have an interest in excellent health measures being in place everywhere…’”