Tasnim – Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said he has sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urging the international community to “disregard inhuman US sanctions” amid the outbreak of the deadly cronavirus in the country.

“In letter to UN SG @antonioguterres, I urge the world body—and member states—to disregard inhuman US sanctions on my country. And insist that they be lifted. As the #COVID19 ravages Iran, we should recognize that viruses don't discriminate. To fight them, neither should humans,” Zarif said on Twitter late on Friday.

Seyed Abbas Mousavi, the spokesman for the ministry, later said that some nations had responded positively to the letter, but did not give specific details as to which countries had agreed to provide support.

“After the Twitter posts from Dr. Zarif, a number of countries and organizations expressed their readiness to send medical aid or to provide and sell them to Iran," he said.

In remarks on Friday, Kianoush Jahanpour said that since yesterday noon, the total number of coronavirus cases in the country has increased by 1,289, reaching 11,364.

Over the past 24 hours, 85 patients have lost their lives, the spokesman said, adding that the death toll from the new coronavirus epidemic in the country has risen to 514.

Fortunately, so far 3,529 patients infected with the COVID-19 have recovered and discharged from hospitals, he said.

Medical staffs in all 31 provinces of Iran have been working tirelessly over the past weeks to contain the novel coronavirus.

First detected in Wuhan city in central China in December, the virus has spread to more than 100 countries.

More than 126,000 have been infected globally, according to the WHO. Of those, over 68,000 have recovered.