In a letter addressed to the heads of the U.S. State Department and U.S. Department of the Treasury on Friday, the Massachusetts Democrat expressed concern that risk-averse banks and businesses won't participate in getting Iran the humanitarian relief it needs, and said that sanctions on the Middle Eastern country should not hinder transactions that would help it fight the disease.
"The public health threat posed by the coronavirus to the Iranian people and the severity of U.S. sanctions on Iran underscore the importance of and need for the administration to clarify prominently that those sanctions do not prohibit the financing of sales of medical equipment and other humanitarian items," Warren said in the letter.
The senator said the U.S. should be making "every reasonable effort" to facilitate the lawful delivery of masks, gowns, gauze and respirators, as well as vital medication and treatment.
"Some of these items may be covered by existing general licenses but other necessary goods may not," Warren said, noting that Iran relies heavily on imported medications and medical treatment.
The same day the letter was dated, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention raised the warning level for travelers to avoid all nonessential travel to Iran and said there is little access to medical care in affected areas, according to its website.
On Thursday, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Swiss government announced the Swiss Humanitarian Trade Agreement intended to ensure humanitarian supplies reach Iran and aren't misused by the government there. On the same day, the Treasury Department issued a license for certain humanitarian trade transactions involving the Central Bank of Iran.
But still, the senator said she is concerned such actions may not make a difference, and she demanded to know which financial institutions or businesses have used the license to send relief to Iran, and asked what specific type of humanitarian supplies they sent to combat the disease.
The senator also demanded to know what specific steps the Treasury and State departments have taken to assess the impact of the sanctions on delivering humanitarian supplies.
"I am concerned that the limited nature of the exceptions and the fact that trade in general with Iran has been circumscribed by U.S. sanctions may make it difficult for urgently needed medical goods to get to Iran to combat the coronavirus," Warren said in the letter.
Warren pointed out that the State Department recently expressed concern about the citizens of North Korea and how they might be affected by a coronavirus outbreak and encouraged international aid to be sent there, and she says the same consideration should be extended to Iran.
In January, the government imposed a "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran and imposed fresh sanctions on Iran's biggest metal producers, as well as on the construction, manufacturing and textile industries, in retaliation for a recent attack on U.S. military sites in the Middle East, which was itself a response to the U.S. killing of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani.
An executive order from President Donald Trump also directed Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to penalize foreign financial institutions that do business with these Iranian industries. The order is intended to curb Iran's nuclear and missile development programs, the Treasury Department said.
Warren asked for a response from the government to her questions by March 30.
As COVID-19 continues to travel across the globe, it's made its way across the U.S., with New York City officials Monday confirming the first case in the city, contracted by a person who had been to Iran, The New York Times reported.
--Editing by Bruce Goldman.
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