Iran said Saturday that 123 more people had died from coronavirus, raising the official death toll to 1,556 in the Islamic republic, one of the world's worst affected countries, reports Al Jazeera.
Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said 966 more cases have been confirmed over the past 24 hours and 20,610 people are now known to have been infected in Iran.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday underlined the need for all countries to help the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, saying that the US sanctions undermine Iran’s health system and consequently the global anti-COVID-19 campaign.
"In a pandemic, Tehran, Paris, London and Washington are not far apart and any undermining of Iran’s health system will cripple the global fight against this pandemic," Rouhani wrote on his Twitter page.
"COVID-19 is a matter of life and death and countering it is the duty of all nations," he added.
"In a letter addressed to the people of the United States of America, I asked them to appeal to their administration and congress that the current path of pressure and sanctions will never be successful," Rouhani said.
His remarks came amid an outcry on national and international levels against US sanctions, with Russia, China, as well as different medical organizations and rights groups urging the administration of US President Donald Trump to lift sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
The coronavirus COVID-19 is affecting over 170 countries and territories around the world. The virus was first reported in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year. It has so far killed more than 11,400 people and infected over 276,000 others globally.
Meanwhile, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan Friday called on the US to lift "unjust" sanctions on Iran so its western neighbour can focus on winning the battle against the coronavirus pandemic.
"I would stress and insist to the international community to lift the sanctions on Iran," Khan said at a press conference regarding the coronavirus outbreak.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted on Friday that the US policy towards the Islamic Republic would live in ‘infamy’ and that his country ‘won't break’.
This week, the US imposed fresh sanctions on Iran, arguing that they did not limit the flow of aid to the country in its time of need.
So far, the US has refused to lift the sanctions against Iran, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo criticising Tehran for a "lack of transparency" amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Arif Rafiq, president of Vizier Consulting, a New York-based political risk advisory company, told Al Jazeera: "It is almost certain that Washington will ignore Khan's advice on lifting the sanctions on Iran.”
"This is ultimately a US-Iran bilateral issue, and Pakistan has little influence over American policy toward Iran."
Rafiq said Washington was more likely to ease sanctions on Tehran in exchange for the release of Western prisoners.
The US has warned that Iran would be directly responsible for the deaths of any Americans held by Tehran.
Tensions escalated in January after US President Donald Trump ordered the killing of revered Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, prompting Iran to retaliate against US forces in Iraq days later.
Following Soleimani's assassination, Khan urged both the US and Iran to avoid further escalation and offered to mediate.
Iran's economy was battered after Trump withdrew the US from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, a multilateral nuclear deal), reimposing severe sanctions that curb oil and gas exports on which the government in Tehran is heavily dependent for revenues.
