DUBAI:
has asked the
International Monetary Fund (
)
for
emergency
funding
to help it
fight the
coronavirus outbreak that has hit the Islamic Republic hard, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Thursday.
The escalating outbreak in
Iran - the worst-affected country in the Middle East - has killed 429 people and infected 10,075. The outbreak has damaged Iranian businesses and is bound
to hit its non-oil exports after many neighbouring countries and trade partners shut their borders.
The
IMF managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, "has stated that countries affected by #COVID19 (
coronavirus) will be supported via Rapid Financial Instrument. Our Central Bank requested access
to this facility immediately", Zarif said in a tweet.
Iranian Central Bank chief Abdolnaser Hemmati wrote on his Instagram page that "in a letter addressed
to the head of
IMF, I have requested five billion U.S. dollars from the RFI
emergency fund
to help our
fight against the
coronavirus".
Iran's economy was already battered by U.S. sanctions that curb oil and gas exports crucial
for government revenues. A slowdown in economic activity caused by the virus outbreak and a sustained closure of its borders are expected
to lead
to a contraction this year, analysts have said.
As
Iran's clerical rulers struggle
to contain the
coronavirus outbreak, Tehran has blamed the United States and its "maximum pressure" policy
for restricting
Iran's ability
to respond effectively
to the virus.
In a letter
to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Zarif repeated
Iran's demand
for U.S. sanctions
to be lifted, Iranian media reported.
U.S. officials have said that the sanctions do not target medicine
for
Iran and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last month said the United States had offered
to help Tehran face the outbreak.
Iran dismissed the offer as ridiculous.
U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from a multilateral nuclear agreement with
Iran in 2018 and reimposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic.