Iran says sanctions are "crimes against humanity"

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Iran declared this Wednesday that unilateral sanctions by the United States and its allies must be recognized as "crimes against humanity" and called for joint efforts by sanctioned countries to forge "a unified response."

"It is time for the inhumane sanctions imposed by the United States and its accomplices to be recognized as crimes against humanity," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchit wrote on the social network X, citing a new study published in the British medical journal The Lancet, which, according to him, demonstrates the lethality of coercive measures.

Western regimes have long claimed that sanctions are a bloodless alternative to war.

Reality check: New study by @TheLancet says unilateral sanctions, particularly by the US, may be as lethal as war. 500+k lives claimed annually since 1970s, mostly children and the elderly.… pic.twitter.com/02tIQiAFA5

— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) August 13, 2025

Araqchid urged countries subject to sanctions to coordinate efforts to develop “a unified and collective response” which he called “a political pressure mechanism that undermines human rights.”

Iran's foreign minister said that since the 1970s, around 500,000 people, mostly children and the elderly, have lost their lives annually due to sanctions.

The Lancet draws attention in its August editorial to research that examines the lethal effect of sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union, arguing that they are associated with 564,258 deaths annually between 1971 and 2021, a number higher than the annual number of combat-related casualties (106,000 deaths).

The conclusion, the prestigious British medical journal also notes, is in line with a previous article published in The Lancet Global Health, which shows the lethal effects of aid sanctions—that is, economic sanctions specifically targeting development aid in low- and middle-income countries—which resulted in a 3.1% increase in infant mortality and a 6.4% increase in maternal mortality annually between 1990 and 2019.

"Western regimes have long claimed that sanctions are a bloodless alternative to war. The reality is that they can be as lethal as war," he denounced.

Iran has been subject to US sanctions since the seizure of the US embassy following the 1979 Islamic Revolution . In response, Washington froze Iranian assets and banned bilateral trade.

Restrictions have worsened over the decades, especially in relation to Iran's nuclear program, with embargoes on Iran's oil and financial sector, not only by the US, but also with sanctions approved by the UN.

In 2015, the signing of the nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers led to the partial lifting of sanctions.

However, in 2018, the United States withdrew from the nuclear deal and reimposed severe economic sanctions under the "maximum pressure" strategy, severely affecting the Iranian economy and access to essential goods.

Meanwhile, European countries have issued an ultimatum to activate the mechanism that automatically reinstates international sanctions against Tehran by the end of August if the Persian country fails to reach an agreement with the West on its atomic program.