Cuba and Iran have also increased their bilateral cooperation to counter the effects of illegal unilateral measures imposed on them by the US.

In this video, we take a look at the politics behind sanctions, how they have become the preferred choice of the US to exert pressure on its rivals and bring about regime change, and how they affect the poor and vulnerable the most

Iran has maintained that the IAEA resolution questioning its cooperation with the agency is politically motivated and was adopted under the pressure from the US, France, Germany, and the UK

Alena Douhan also expressed the need to create a legal framework to prevent countries such as the US taking unilateral action against others

On the same day when EU officials insisted on the deal’s revival, Brett McGurk, US President Joe Biden’s aide on the Middle East, said that the revival is “highly unlikely” and hinted at more sanctions against Iran 

Several countries in the region are facing prolonged droughts, increased desertification and phenomenal rise in temperature which is gradually turning the region inhabitable. Natural calamities also feed into existing conflicts.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying urged the incoming Biden administration to rejoin the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) “as early as possible” and without any preconditions

The Trump administration unilaterally withdrew from the deal in May 2018 and imposed various sanctions against Iran without any international approval

On Thursday, the US treasury department blacklisted 18 major Iranian banks in the latest assault as part of its so-called maximum pressure campaign against the country