Iran condemned United States sanctions on Thursday as illegal, inhuman, and equivalent to crimes against humanity, marking the first International Day against Unilateral Coercive Measures established by the United Nations earlier this year. In a statement posted on X, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the coincidence of the new annual observance with the anniversary of the 1986 Declaration on the Right to Development underlined the global need to confront the impact of coercive economic policies.
Baghaei said unilateral coercive measures imposed without approval from the UN Security Council systematically violate fundamental human rights, including access to life, health care, education, and development. He argued that sanctions designed to pressure governments ultimately target the daily lives of entire populations, making them a form of collective punishment. According to the spokesman, Washington must be held accountable for the humanitarian consequences of its sanctions regime, which he described as illegal and inhuman actions committed against developing nations including Iran.
The United States has imposed sanctions on Iran for decades, expanding them after the former US administration withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement despite international verification that Iran had complied with the deal. By blocking financial channels for medical supplies and essential equipment, these measures have left tens of thousands of patients critically affected, Iranian officials say, despite US claims of humanitarian exemptions. Families of patients suffering from epidermolysis bullosa, a rare disease requiring specialised wound dressings, brought a case to the Tehran Legal Court of International Relations last year. In July 2024 the court ordered the US government to pay more than six billion dollars in damages for restricting access to vital medicines.
Iranian officials say the UN General Assembly’s decision in June 2025 to create the new international day reflects growing demands from developing nations and the Non Aligned Movement for accountability over sanctions that obstruct socioeconomic development. Tehran maintains that unilateral coercive measures violate international law and the UN Charter and has urged stronger global efforts to end what it views as politically motivated pressure tactics.
Baghaei said the continuation of such measures undermines global stability and development, and he called on the international community to confront the humanitarian impact of sanctions imposed outside the UN framework.
